Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast? Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows population growth continued to slow in Q3 2025, hitting its lowest rate since growth was physically restricted in 2021. That’s raised concerns over economic momentum, but it’s misplaced. Even if Canada drifts through the rest of the 2020s at a lockdown pace, it’s still on track for the fastest decade of growth since the ’80s.
Canadian Population Growth Is Slowing—But Far From Slow
Canada’s population growth is decelerating, but it’s nowhere near slow. The country added an estimated 47,098 people (+0.11% q/q) in Q3 2025, pushing the population to a record 41.65 million. While a slight acceleration from Q2, it was still the second slowest quarter since physical restrictions throttled growth in 2021—comparable to Q1 and Q2 of 2015.
The soft quarter was a drag on annual growth, but the pace remains within historical norms. Canada added 389,324 people (+0.94% y/y), the slowest annual rate since 2021. Before 2020, it would’ve been the slowest since 2016—but around the 1.0% range the country maintained since the mid-1990s. Canada wasn’t exactly viewed as anti-immigration back then. In fact, the exact opposite is true—Canada was considered a very immigration-friendly country with robust growth.
Canadian Population On Track For Fastest Growth Since The ’80s—Even At Lockdown Speeds
Canadian population growth by decade, with 2020s projected at Q3 2025’s quarterly rate (+0.11%). In percent.
Source: StatCan; Better Dwelling.
Canada’s recent population growth is staggering. Over the past 5 years, the country added a mindblowing 3.65 million people—roughly equal to the entire 2010s. Canada’s job market even struggled to absorb this rate.
If Q3’s recession-like growth of 0.11% q/q persists through the decade, the population would still hit 42.46 million by Q4 2029. That’s a total increase of 11.95%—the fastest growth rate for any decade since the 1980s, despite starting at two-thirds the size.
That’s not a slowdown. It’s still a breakneck pace—and it should serve as a reminder of how wildly unsustainable Canada’s policy approach has been.
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