Statistics Canada
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Quarterly Demographic Estimates

January to March 2008

91-002-X


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Highlights

  1. On April 1, 2008, Canada’s population stood at 33,223,800, up 80,200 from January 1, 2008. At 0.24%, this was the strongest population growth since 2002 (0.27%) for a 1st quarter.
  2. International net migration was up. Over the first three months of 2008, the country gained 60,200 people in its population exchanges with the rest of the world, more than anything recorded since 2002 for a 1st quarter.
  3. The country welcomed 53,100 immigrants in January, February and March 2008. This number was higher than for the same period in the previous year (47,900) but similar to the average observed for every first quarter since the start of the millennium (53,200).
  4. The number of non-permanent residents rose by 16,300 between January 1 and April 1, 2008. This was the largest net increase for a 1st quarter since 1990 (17,700).
  5. Alberta again posted the strongest increase in the country, despite a significant drop in its net interprovincial migration. In the first three months of 2008, the province took in more new immigrants and had a higher net number of non-permanent residents than any ever observed for a 1st quarter.
  6. In January-March 2008, the populations of all four Atlantic provinces grew. This was the first time since 1992 for a 1st quarter.
  7. The Yukon reported the sharpest population growth in Canada in the 1st quarter of 2008, largely because of a combination of net international migration, but also, its positive interprovincial migration.