OTTAWA --
Canada's inhabitants grew at a sooner fee than lots of its friends, rising to over 36.99 million on census day final yr regardless of a historic slowdown brought on by COVID-19.
Statistics Canada stated the nationwide inhabitants grew by 5.2 per cent between 2016 and 2021, virtually double the speed of some other G7 nation and sooner than the previous five-year stretch.
The company stated the principle motive for the slowdown in progress from a historic excessive to its lowest fee in a century was border restrictions that, whereas meant to sluggish the unfold of COVID-19, additionally slowed the tempo of newcomers arriving in Canada, who've been, and stay, essential to take care of progress.
Statistics Canada stated there have been about 1.8 million extra folks calling the nation house in 2021 in contrast with 2016, with 4 in each 5 being immigrants.
Federal immigration plans name for 411,000 new everlasting residents this yr, rising to 421,000 in 2023. Michael Haan, an affiliate professor at Western College's sociology division, stated these traditionally excessive targets would imply the inhabitants curve would actually take off.
Immigration has been key to driving inhabitants progress because the birthrate has declined, however the company notes that fee in 2021 hit its lowest degree of document as a part of a notable decline since 2008.
The variety of kids per girl hit 1.4 in 2020, the latest yr the company offered, a document low that falls wanting the two.1 mark wanted for births to offset deaths, which is linked to sustaining a thriving economic system.
Statistics Canada stated a few of that slowdown is likely to be pandemic-induced, however warned it might worsen sooner or later. An company research late final yr famous adults beneath 50 needed to have fewer kids than beforehand deliberate.
At this level, Canada is not headed to a scenario the place deaths outnumber births like in Italy and Japan -- at the very least throughout the subsequent 50 years. The important thing to avoiding that destiny is the variety of new immigrants who increase inhabitants numbers, but additionally home birthrates.
"If you happen to appeal to immigrants, you are going to develop and should you do not appeal to immigrants, there is a excessive likelihood you are going to finally go into inhabitants decline," stated Doug Norris, chief demographer at Environics Analytics who spent 30 years at Statistics Canada, together with work on the census.
The pandemic is predicted to affect census outcomes, though specialists counsel the nation could have to attend just a few years to be taught whether or not COVID-19 brought on a everlasting or momentary shift within the portrait of the inhabitants.
"We'll want to observe traits within the coming years, most likely till census 2026, to positively draw a conclusion," stated Laurent Martel, director of Statistics Canada's centre for demography.
"Actually, the pandemic has accelerated a few of these traits that we had been already seeing within the knowledge."
The primary findings launched Wednesday from the 2021 census, taken in opposition to the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, confirmed that the Maritimes grew sooner than the Prairies for the primary time for the reason that Nineteen Forties, largely on the again of immigration. Newfoundland and Labrador was the lone province to see a decline.
The most important share of the inhabitants nonetheless resides in Ontario. However to its west, British Columbia watched its slice of the inhabitants pie develop and the Prairies noticed its share rise to its highest degree since 1951.
To Ontario's east, Quebec's share of the inhabitants continued to say no, as did the Atlantic provinces.
Immigrants usually settle in city centres. The most important cities bought greater between 2016 and 2021 with Edmonton and Ottawa cracking the one-million mark, and the variety of cities with greater than 100,000 folks rising to 41 from 35. Rural areas, too, grew, albeit at a far slower tempo than their metropolitan cousins.
"It continues to indicate that we must be planning our city centres higher to make them extra livable, make them extra walkable, and make them extra related, on the similar time make them extra inexpensive," stated Dan Huang, president of the Canadian Institute of Planners.
"That's the paradox of planning, I suppose, and policy-making within the nation, which there is no simple reply to."
Statistics Canada plans so as to add extra prospers to the paint-by-numbers train because the yr rolls on to disclose extra details about adjustments amongst Indigenous populations, and dealing in the course of the pandemic.
The following launch date is scheduled for late April when Statistics Canada will define census findings on how the nation has aged, forms of housing and, for the primary time, gender identification.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Feb. 9, 2022
Folks put on face masks as they cross a road in Montreal, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
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