Immigration increases Canada's population by over 1 million

2023-03-23 20:14:57Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Immigration increases Canada's population by over 1 million

Canada's population grew by over 1 million last year. According to official data, the population has increased from 38,516,138 to 39,566,248 inhabitants. This also marked the largest annual percentage increase in Canada's population, at 2.7%, since 1957.

The increase was also fueled in part by government efforts to recruit immigrants to try to ease labor shortages. The country depends on immigration to help with the aging population.

According to Statistics Canada, the increase in the number of permanent and temporary immigrants may bring new challenges to some regions of the country related to housing, infrastructure, transportation and distribution services to the population.

According to what the BBC writes citing official Canadian government sources, international immigration accounts for nearly 96% of population growth.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made several ongoing efforts to attract immigrants to his country since coming to power in 2015. Last year, the government announced plans to welcome half a million immigrants a year by 2025.

The Canadian government has also accepted people affected by conflict, such as the war in Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Canada's largest population increase in the past was in 1957 and came as a result of the birth boom after World War II and the movement of refugees due to the Hungarian Revolution.

The country welcomed 437,000 immigrants in 2022, while the number of non-permanent residents increased by 607,782, marking a record year for processing immigrant applications, according to official Canadian government data.

If Canada were to maintain growth at 2.7% annually, its population would double within 26 years.

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