Canada Population Growth Drops to 0.5% in 2026

September 28, 2026

Population Growth Hits 110-Year Low as Temporary Visas Shrink

Federal immigration restrictions have driven Canada’s annual population growth rate down to 0.5%, bringing total population to an estimated 41,798,407 as of July 1, 2026.

According to Statistics Canada data, the net addition of 189,425 residents over the 12-month period ending July 1, 2026, represents the smallest absolute annual July-to-July increase since 1944/1945 and the lowest percentage growth since 1915/1916. The figures mark a steep drop from annual growth rates recorded earlier in the decade, which reached 1.8% in 2021/2022, 2.7% in 2022/2023, and peaked at 2.8% in 2023/2024, before stepping down to 1.1% in 2024/2025. Between April 1 and July 1, 2026, the country added 80,343 people, a quarterly increase of 0.2% that stands as the lowest second-quarter expansion since pandemic travel limits were active in 2020.

Non-Permanent Resident Counts Fall Across Key Visa Categories

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The contraction is centered in the temporary immigration system, where stricter caps and reduced targets have directly lowered overall population volume.

The non-permanent resident population fell to 2,779,774 on July 1, 2026. This is a decline of 154,614 people compared to the previous year and the largest single-year July-to-July reduction in non-permanent residents since comparable tracking began in 1971/1972. Non-permanent residents now make up 6.7% of Canada’s total population, down from a peak of 2,984,285 residents (7.2% of the population) on October 1, 2024.

Reductions in international study authorizations drove the largest share of the decline. Over the 2025/2026 period:

Study permit holder numbers dropped by 140,827.
Individuals holding dual work and study permits declined by 81,163.

This reduction in student visa volume significantly altered the country’s demographic profile. The population of adults in their 20s fell by 154,973 people, or 2.8%. Within that group, the cohort aged 20 to 24 decreased by 63,838 (-2.4%), while the cohort aged 25 to 29 dropped by 91,135 (-3.1%). Statistics Canada attributes this concentration directly to the reduction in study permit holders, who are predominantly young adults.