With people migrating to the province from around Canada and the world, Alberta broke records for population growth in the last year. As of January 1, 2024, the province’s population increased to a little over 4.8 million, according to updated estimates that Statistics Canada provided on Wednesday. This represents the most tremendous annual increase in history—202,324 more residents than a year ago. Moreover, with a net gain of 55,000 individuals in 2023, Alberta beat the previous record for interprovincial migration nationally. Since comparable data became available in 1972, this was the highest increase in interprovincial migration nationally.
British Columbia and Ontario produced the majority of the interprovincial migrants. A net increase 23,000 was achieved last year when roughly 38,000 Ontarians relocated to Alberta and 15,000 Albertans moved to Ontario. Similarly, there was a net gain of 16,000 when 38,000 British Columbians are thought to have migrated to Alberta and 22,000 Albertans to B.C. During the past year, interprovincial migration has been responsible for 27% of Alberta’s population growth. This placed it slightly ahead of natural population growth, which accounted for 8% of the total, and permanent immigration, which accounted for 26%. Nevertheless, transient international migration was the most critical factor. A nationwide trend was observed in the province’s population growth during the past year, with non-permanent residents from other countries accounting for 39% of the increase.
Estimates from Statistics Canada show that as of January 1, the country’s population was 40,769,890, up 3.2% over the previous year. Most temporary immigration in 2023 contributed to Canada’s 3.2% population growth rate. Without temporary immigration, Canada’s population growth would have been nearly three times lower (1.2 percent) if the country had just relied on permanent immigration and natural increases. In contrast, Alberta’s population increased by 4.4% in a year. Alberta currently holds the most significant percentage of the nation’s population—11.8%—in history.
