Alberta is calling. And more than 55,000 people from other parts of the country have heeded the call, according to the latest Statistics Canada numbers.About 333,000 Canadians moved from one province or territory to another in 2023, the second highest number since the 1990s and the third straight year it has topped 300,000.At 55,107 newcomers, Alberta topped the list for the second straight year and represented the largest net gain nationally since the data was first recorded in 1972. “Alberta has been recording gains in population from interprovincial migration since 2022, a reverse of the trend seen from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada,” it said..Nationally, Ontario lost the greatest number of people to other provinces and territories in 2023, at 36,197 following a loss of 38,816 people in 2022. Stats Can.Nova Scotia (+6,169), New Brunswick (+4,790) and Prince Edward Island (+818) took the next three spots, although all three Maritime provinces gained fewer interprovincial migrants in 2023 than in the previous two years StatsCan said.Nationally, Ontario lost the greatest number of people to other provinces and territories in 2023, at 36,197 following a loss of 38,816 people in 2022. The only other times — since comparable data became available — a province has lost more than 35,000 people due to migration to other parts of Canada occurred in Quebec in 1977 (-38,498 people) and 1978 (-36,955).Unlike Alberta, BC had more 8,624 more residents move out than in during 2023, the first time interprovincial migration was negative since 2012. StatsCan noted the largest migration flows for BC and Alberta are with each other and most of the net loss from BC in 2023 was to Alberta..Meanwhile, the number of new immigrants nationally continues at a record clip. In the fourth quarter of last year Canada took in 100,472 permanent immigrants and 150,347 non-permanent residents — up for the eighth quarter in a row.That pushed Canada’s population to a record 40.77 million people, or an increase of more than 1.27 million over the 12-month period. That was the fastest annual growth rate, at 3.2%, since 1957.Most of that growth stemmed from temporary immigration, the agency said. Without temporary immigration — that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increases — Canada's population growth would have been almost three times less at 1.2%.In 2023, the vast majority — 97.6% — of Canada's population growth came from international migration (both permanent and temporary) and the remaining portion, or 2.4%, came from natural increases.On July 1, 2023, for the first time in Canadian history, there were more people aged 65 years and older (7.57 million) than younger than 18 years (7.49 million). .Millennials (born between 1981-96) now outnumber Baby Boomers born after the Second World War — including temporary workers and international students — which has skewed sectors of the labour market.The high number of new working age Canadians may also put pressure on the delivery of services to the population, housing, transportation and infrastructure, StatsCan said.The Baby Boomer generation became the largest in the population in 1958, seven years before the last Baby Boomer was even born. For 65 years, they remained the largest generation in the Canadian population. However, the number and proportion of people aged 65 years and older have continued to rise, driven by the aging of the large Baby Boomer cohorts.Newfoundland and Labrador continued to be the province with the highest average age (45.7 years) and the highest proportion of people aged 65 years and older (24.4%). Alberta had the youngest average age (39.1 years) and the lowest proportion of people aged 65 years and older (15.1%).“To a lesser extent, these changes in the generational breakdown of the population are also attributable to the aging of older generations. The number of baby boomers has been declining year over year since 2006, as deaths in this generation outnumber the arrival of immigrants, most of whom are young adults aged less than 40,” StatsCan said.
Alberta is calling. And more than 55,000 people from other parts of the country have heeded the call, according to the latest Statistics Canada numbers.About 333,000 Canadians moved from one province or territory to another in 2023, the second highest number since the 1990s and the third straight year it has topped 300,000.At 55,107 newcomers, Alberta topped the list for the second straight year and represented the largest net gain nationally since the data was first recorded in 1972. “Alberta has been recording gains in population from interprovincial migration since 2022, a reverse of the trend seen from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada,” it said..Nationally, Ontario lost the greatest number of people to other provinces and territories in 2023, at 36,197 following a loss of 38,816 people in 2022. Stats Can.Nova Scotia (+6,169), New Brunswick (+4,790) and Prince Edward Island (+818) took the next three spots, although all three Maritime provinces gained fewer interprovincial migrants in 2023 than in the previous two years StatsCan said.Nationally, Ontario lost the greatest number of people to other provinces and territories in 2023, at 36,197 following a loss of 38,816 people in 2022. The only other times — since comparable data became available — a province has lost more than 35,000 people due to migration to other parts of Canada occurred in Quebec in 1977 (-38,498 people) and 1978 (-36,955).Unlike Alberta, BC had more 8,624 more residents move out than in during 2023, the first time interprovincial migration was negative since 2012. StatsCan noted the largest migration flows for BC and Alberta are with each other and most of the net loss from BC in 2023 was to Alberta..Meanwhile, the number of new immigrants nationally continues at a record clip. In the fourth quarter of last year Canada took in 100,472 permanent immigrants and 150,347 non-permanent residents — up for the eighth quarter in a row.That pushed Canada’s population to a record 40.77 million people, or an increase of more than 1.27 million over the 12-month period. That was the fastest annual growth rate, at 3.2%, since 1957.Most of that growth stemmed from temporary immigration, the agency said. Without temporary immigration — that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increases — Canada's population growth would have been almost three times less at 1.2%.In 2023, the vast majority — 97.6% — of Canada's population growth came from international migration (both permanent and temporary) and the remaining portion, or 2.4%, came from natural increases.On July 1, 2023, for the first time in Canadian history, there were more people aged 65 years and older (7.57 million) than younger than 18 years (7.49 million). .Millennials (born between 1981-96) now outnumber Baby Boomers born after the Second World War — including temporary workers and international students — which has skewed sectors of the labour market.The high number of new working age Canadians may also put pressure on the delivery of services to the population, housing, transportation and infrastructure, StatsCan said.The Baby Boomer generation became the largest in the population in 1958, seven years before the last Baby Boomer was even born. For 65 years, they remained the largest generation in the Canadian population. However, the number and proportion of people aged 65 years and older have continued to rise, driven by the aging of the large Baby Boomer cohorts.Newfoundland and Labrador continued to be the province with the highest average age (45.7 years) and the highest proportion of people aged 65 years and older (24.4%). Alberta had the youngest average age (39.1 years) and the lowest proportion of people aged 65 years and older (15.1%).“To a lesser extent, these changes in the generational breakdown of the population are also attributable to the aging of older generations. The number of baby boomers has been declining year over year since 2006, as deaths in this generation outnumber the arrival of immigrants, most of whom are young adults aged less than 40,” StatsCan said.
