Statistics Canada highlights areas of strength
Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs) have seen their strongest population growth since the early 2000s, reversing the trend of sluggish increases established during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the national statistics agency.
The total population of Canada’s urban areas had a 2.1% increase over the year ending July 1, 2022. This represented a massive upswing of approximately 574,000 new people in the country’s CMAs, Statistics Canada reported.
StatCan identified the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the resulting boost in immigration as the major contributors to the surge that has seen 16 CMAs reach their strongest annual population growth in at least two decades.
“New permanent immigrants and net gains of non-permanent residents accounted for most of this rapid growth,” StatCan said. “The largest urban centres continue to see their growth resulting mostly from international migration as movement toward smaller urban centres or peripheral regions remains strong.”
How strong was inbound immigration to Canada in 2022?
Canada saw at least 431,000 new permanent residents last year, significantly exceeding the 2022 immigration target of 401,000 newcomers established by the federal government.
This also represented the country’s largest ever annual increase since 1913, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
“In 2022, IRCC processed approximately 5.2 million applications for permanent residence, temporary residence, and citizenship. That’s double the number of applications processed in 2021,” the agency said.
