Population of Canada
Canada ranks 38th by population, comprising about 0.5% of the world’s total, with over 38 million Canadians as of 2020. Being, however, the fourth-largest country by land area (second-largest by total area), the vast majority of the country is sparsely inhabited, with most of its population south of the 55th parallel north and more than half of Canadians live in just two provinces: Ontario and Quebec. Though Canada’s population density is low, many regions in the south such as the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, have population densities higher than several European countries. Canada’s largest population centres are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa with those six being the only ones with more than one million people. The large size of Canada’s north which is not arable, and thus cannot support large human populations, significantly lowers the country’s carrying capacity. Therefore, the population density of the habitable land in Canada can be modest to high depending on the region.
The historical growth of Canada’s population is complex and has been influenced in many different ways, such as indigenous populations, expansion of territory, and human migration. Being a new world country, immigration has been, and remains, the most important factor in Canada’s population growth. The 2016 Canadian census counted a total population of 35,151,728, an increase of around 5.0 percent over the 2011 figure. Between 1990 and 2008, the population increased by 5.6 million, equivalent to 20.4 percent overall growth.
Components of population growth
In 2010, Canada’s annual population growth rate was 1.238%, or a daily increase of 1,137 individuals.[35] Between 1867 and 2009 Canada’s population grew by 979%.[35] Canada had the highest net migration rate (0.61%) of all G-8 member countries between 1994 and 2004.[35] Natural growth accounts for an annual increase of 137,626 persons, at a yearly rate of 0.413%.[35] Between 2001 and 2006, there were 1,446,080 immigrants and 237,418 emigrants, resulting in a net migration of just over 1.2 million people.[35] Since 2001, immigration has ranged between 221,352 and 262,236 immigrants per annum.[46]
Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_of_Canada