March 18, 2026
RED FM News Desk
For the first time since the 1940s, Canada has recorded a significant annual decrease in its population, dropping by over 100,000 people during 2025. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, the country’s population fell by 103,504 people (a 0.25% dip) between October 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026. This brings the total national population to 41,472,081.
The primary driver behind this shift is the federal government’s aggressive strategy to reduce the number of non-permanent residents (NPRs) in the country. The data reveals that the number of international students and foreign workers plummeted by 171,296 in the final quarter of 2025 alone. This downward trend aligns with Ottawa’s target to reduce the share of non-permanent residents to 5% of the total population by the end of 2027. After peaking at 7.6% in October 2024, that figure has already retreated to 6.4%.
The cooldown is not limited to temporary residents; the arrival of new permanent residents also saw a nearly 20% decrease compared to the previous year. Economists suggest these figures indicate that the government’s revised immigration policies are now having a tangible impact on the ground.
Robert Kavcic, a Senior Economist at the Bank of Montreal (BMO), described this period as a “normalization” of Canada’s population growth. Analysts expect that population growth will hover near zero until 2027, after which it may stabilize at a more sustainable level of approximately 1%. This transition marks a stark departure from the record-high growth rates seen in recent years and signals a new era for Canada’s demographic and economic planning.
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