Canada will experience record population growth in 2022

(CNN) Canada experienced record population growth in 2022, with immigration They represent the vast majority of the 1.05 million new residents.

This is the first time in the country’s history that its population has grown by more than 1 million people in a 12-month period, according to a Statistics Canada press release published Wednesday.

The total population was 39,566,248 million on January 1 — 2.7% higher than a year earlier, and immigration accounts for 95.9% of that growth, according to the country’s statistics agency.

While other developed countries are grappling with it Slowing population growthCanada has the fastest population growth of any G7 country, and a growth rate of 2.7% ranks in the top 20 globally.

If the country’s population continues to grow at the same rate, it will double in about 26 years, according to Statistics Canada.

The number of immigrants arriving in Canada reached a record high of 437,180 in 2022, and the increase in immigration is linked to “efforts by the Canadian government to alleviate labor shortages in key sectors of the economy,” Statistics Canada said.

“The rise in job vacancies and labor shortages is occurring in a context in which Canada’s population is aging rapidly and the unemployment rate remains near a record low,” the agency added.

In late 2022, the Canadian government announced that it wanted to bring in 1.5 million immigrants by 2025, to bolster a gap in its economy that has been caused by an aging population.

Canada ranks first in Gallup’s Immigrant Acceptance Index, and Gallup data released on December 7 last year found that Canadians are consistently among the most likely in the world to view their communities as good places for immigrants to live.

However, Statistics Canada raises some potential future challenges should the 2022 trend continue.

“The high number of permanent and temporary migrants could pose additional challenges to some regions of the country related to housing, infrastructure, transportation and the provision of services to the population,” the agency said.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing pressure from political opponents over immigration levels, due to a sharp increase in the number of people crossing into Canada from the United States.

In January, she confronted Canadian authorities Almost 5,000 asylum seekers Crossing illegally, according to government data.