Statistics Canada estimates Canada’s population fell 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, the third consecutive quarter in which the Canadian population has seen a decline.
The agency states that Canada’s population is currently estimated to be 41,417,056 as of April 1, 2026, down 55,025 people from Jan. 1.
Canada welcomed 83,149 permanent immigrants in the first quarter of 2026, representing a decline of 20.2 per cent compared with the number of permanent immigrants welcomed in the same quarter of 2025 (104,210).
Statistics Canada noted that these numbers are “in line” with the lower target established by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for 2026.
“To support a return to sustainable immigration levels, the Government is committed to reducing Canada’s temporary population to less than five per cent of the total population by the end of 2027,” the IRCC stated in November 2025.
“Targets for new temporary resident arrivals are set at 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028. These figures represent new temporary worker and student arrivals to Canada.”
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In addition, the preliminary number of non-permanent residents also decreased by 117,879 people in the first quarter of 2026, currently sitting at 2,558,562 and representing a 4.4 per cent decline.
Updated numbers are expected to be released in September to reflect the second quarter of 2026.
Decreasing population a continuing trend
Between Oct. 1, 2025, and Jan. 1, 2026, Canada’s population decreased by 103,504 people, according to the agency.
The March 2026 estimates state that the country’s population remains “well below the levels observed in the fourth quarters of 2023 and 2024.”
A September 2025 economic and social report by Statistics Canada stated that “the government aims to lower the proportion of temporary residents in the national population to five per cent by the end of 2026 to ease the strain on infrastructure and support more sustainable population growth.”
After the figure reached 3,149,131 on Oct. 1, 2024, the agency states that “the number of non-permanent residents living in Canada steadily decreased to 2,676,441 on January 1, 2026.”
The agency attributed the lower numbers to “decreases among people holding a study permit only, a work permit only, or both a work and study permit.”
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