In 2018 more migrants than ever chose a life in Canada.  Immigration to Canada has reached new record heights with the last half of 2018 being especially busy.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it recorded more migrants entering the country in the six-month period between 1 July and 31 October 2018 than ever before.  These figures are great news for Canada who, due to a steady population decline through low birth rates, desperately needs migrants to stimulate their economy.

The IRCC estimates that Canada’s population increased by 183,715 people during the third quarter of 2018. Statistics Canada says this was the largest quarterly increase in absolute numbers since the introduction of its current demographic accounting system in 1971.

According to the IRCC international migration alone accounted for most of the increase, with 146,531 people arriving in Canada between July 1 and October 1.

“Of the new arrivals, 82,316 were permanent residents and 79,417 were non-permanent residents, which Statistics Canada said were mostly work and study permit study holders. The number of new permanent residents who arrived between July 1 and October 1 was the fifth-largest in a single quarter since the study began in 1971,” said CIC in a recent article.

Statistics show that Canada’s natural population increase (births minus deaths) in the third quarter was estimated at 37,184. Statistics Canada put the number of births in the third quarter at 103,199 and the number of deaths at 66,015.

“Natural increase in the third quarter has been on a downward trend since the third quarter of 2012,” Statistics Canada reported, noting this trend is expected to continue as a result of population ageing.

International migration drove population growth in nine Canadian provinces between July 1 and October 1, Statistics Canada reported.

Statistics Canada reported this month that Nova Scotia added 10,000 people this year, continuing a trend since 2016 that has increased our population to 964,000.

The Globe and Mail reported that the best hope of economic survival and growth for provinces like New Brunswick is to encourage immigration.  The province’s downward birth rate trends do not bode well for their economy, which was downgraded from “stable” to “negative”.

The province’s best hope for reversing the effects of the population decline is a major immigration boost said economists Richard Saillant, former federal public policy analyst and author of A Tale of Two Countries: How the Great Demographic Imbalance is Pulling Canada Apart.

Source: Canada Immigration News, IRCC, Globe and Mail and Statistics Canada