Quarterly Demographic Estimates
January to March 2020
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Highlights
- On April 1, 2020, Canada’s population was 37,971,020. This was an increase of 76,221 (+0.2%). The last time Canada recorded a lower increase in the first quarter was in 2015 (+0.1%).
- The global pandemic of COVID-19 came to Canada in January 2020. The first death was reported on March 9, 2020. The pandemic was beginning to have an impact on the population of Canada in the first quarter of 2020 (January 1 to March 31, 2020). However, a larger impact will not be felt until the second quarter (April 1 to June 30, 2020).
- By March 31, 2020, there were 96 deaths from COVID-19 in Canada, mostly in Quebec (31), Ontario (33) and British Columbia (19) (Public Health Agency of Canada). In total, there were almost 80,000 deaths in the first quarter of 2020, the most in a first quarter since the beginning of the current demographic reporting system (third quarter of 1971). This is consistent with an aging population.
- The closing of the Canada/US border to all but essential travel on March 21, 2020 was accompanied by a reduction in the number of international flights. This lead to a decrease in the number of returning emigrants by over 900 persons from the first quarter of 2019 (5,013, down from 5,948).
- International migration growth was high for every province and territory. It accounted for 82.3% of Canada’s population growth in the first quarter of 2020. This growth was mainly driven by immigrants, up to 69,787 in the first quarter of 2020 from 65,936 in the first quarter of 2019. The majority of these immigrants came before the international travel restrictions began.
- Due mainly to a reduction in the number of study permits, the net increase in the number of non-permanent residents was almost 80% lower than what was observed during the same period last year.
- For the first quarter of 2020, the highest population growth was recorded in Prince Edward Island among the provinces (+0.4%) and Nunavut among the territories (+1.0%). Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province or territory to decrease in population over the first quarter of 2020 (-0.2%).
- Interprovincial migration between the provinces and territories was uneven in the first quarter. Alberta (+3,123) and British Columbia (+3,247) gained in their exchanges with other provinces or territories, mainly with other western provinces and Ontario. This is the first time since 2003 that Quebec has gained in interprovincial migration for two consecutive quarters. The highest losses were found in Ontario (-2,507) and Saskatchewan (-3,295). This is the first time in almost five years that Ontario has lost population due to interprovincial migration.
Quarterly demographic estimates for Canada, the provinces and the territories are available in Tables 17-10-0009-01, 17-10-0020-01, 17-10-0040-01, 17-10-0045-01 and 17-10-0059-01, which are linked in the Related products section.
The “Quarterly demographic estimates, provinces and territories: Interactive dashboard” (71-607-X) is available. This interactive dashboard can be used to visualize the factors of Canada's population growth and how they have changed over time for Canada, the provinces and territories.
End of text box Start of text boxQuarterly demographic estimates in Excel format, for years 1971 to 2020
The article “Technical Supplement: Production of Demographic Estimates for the First Quarter of 2020 in the Context of COVID-19” (91F0015M) is now available.
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