Canada’s population declined by 103,504 people from October 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026-marking the second consecutive quarterly drop, and the first such occurrence in recorded history.
As of January 1, 2026, the national population stood at 41,472,081-well below fourth-quarter levels from both 2023 and 2024.
The decline is driven primarily by a 171,296 reduction in non-permanent residents-including international students and temporary workers. Their total fell to 2,676,441 on January 1, 2026, down from 3,149,131 a year earlier.
New arrivals dropped sharply: student arrivals fell 37% year-over-year; worker arrivals fell 20%. Permanent immigration also slowed-83,168 welcomed in Q4 2025, a 19.6% decline from Q4 2024.
Statistics Canada noted that over 14,000 former temporary residents became permanent residents in January 2026-60% of all new permanent residents that month. The federal government aims to lower the temporary resident share of the population to 5% by end-2026-and to select over 40% of annual permanent residents from within that group.
Ontario welcomed 42.3% of new immigrants in Q4 2025; Quebec was the only province to increase its intake year-over-year.