Canada's population hits record high, driven by immigration surge. How many of these are Indian migrants?
Canada population
Canada's population reached a record high of 40.77 million in 2023. This surge, according to Statistics Canada, was mainly driven by temporary immigration.
As per recently published data, in 2023, the country added 1.27 million people to its population — up 3.2 per cent from the previous year. This just so happens to be Canada's highest growth since 1957.
Also read |Canada clocks its fastest population growth in 66 years, climbed to record high of 40mn in 2023
"In 2023, the vast majority (97.6 per cent) of Canada's population growth came from international migration (both permanent and temporary immigration) and the remaining portion (2.4 per cent) came from natural increase," said Statscan in a statement.
"This was the second straight year that temporary immigration drove population growth and the third year in a row with a net increase of NPRs (non-permanent residents)," it added, as reported by Reuters.
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How many of these are Indians?
Indian migrants account for a huge part of Canada's immigrant population.
As per the Canada Visa website, "Over 120,000 Indians settle in Canada as permanent residents every year and Canada is now home to one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world."
Between 2013 and2022, the number of Indians immigrating to Canada, as per reports, more than tripled.
The number of Indians availing permanent citizenship in Canada in 2013 was 32,828. In 2022, this number increased by 260 per cent to 118,095.
In 2023, partly due to tensions between India and Canada, the number of study permits fell by 41 per cent.
According to data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the number of applications for December fell from 16,796 in 2022 to 6,329 in 2023.
Despite that, Indians continue to be the largest group of immigrants, making up for a significant portion of the estimated 2,661,784 non-permanent residents living in Canada as of January 1, 2024.
As per the latest Statscan data, 2,332,886 of these were permit holders and their family members, and 328,898 were asylum claimants with or without work or study permits.
The effects of immigrant influx
As per Reuters, the influx of immigrants has been linked to a housing shortage, which has pushed house prices, bringing affordability, to a new low.
This, as per the report, has also hurt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approval ratings.
Furthermore, according to economists and the Bank of Canada, population growth has impacted Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and productivity levels.
(With inputs from agencies)
