The historical growth of Canada's population is complex and has been influenced by several
factors, such as indigenous populations, expansion of territory, and human migration.
Being a new world country, Canada has been predisposed to be a very open society with
regards to immigration, which has been the most important factor in its historical population
growth.
Canadians make up about 0.5% of the world's total population.
An estimate in 2014 had the population at 35,344,962.
Despite the fact that Canada's population density is low, many regions in the south
such as Southern Ontario, have population densities higher than several European countries.
The large size of Canada's north which is not arable, and thus cannot support large
human populations, significantly lowers the carrying capacity.
Therefore the population density of the habitable land in Canada can be modest to high depending
on the region.
Historical population overview Aboriginals
Scholars vary on the estimated size of the aboriginal population in what is now Canada
prior to colonization and on the effects of European contact.
During the late 15th century is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million,
with a figure of 500,000 currently accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Health.
Although not without conflict, European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and
Inuit populations were relatively peaceful.
However repeated outbreaks of European infectious diseases such as influenza, measles and smallpox,
combined with other effects of European contact, resulted in a twenty-five percent to eighty
percent Aboriginal population decrease post-contact.
Roland G Robertson suggests that during the late 1630s, smallpox killed over half of the
Wyandot, who controlled most of the early North American fur trade in the area of New
France.
In 1871 there was an enumeration of the aboriginal population within the limits of Canada at
the time, showing a total of only 102,358 individuals.
According to the 2011 Canadian Census, Aboriginal peoples numbered at 1,400,685, or 4.3% of
the country's total population.
New France The European population grew slowly under
French rule, thus remained relatively low as growth was largely achieved through natural
births, rather than by immigration.
Most of the French were farmers, and the rate of population growth among the settlers themselves
was very high.
The women had about 30 per cent more children than comparable women who remained in France.
Yves Landry says, "Canadians had an exceptional diet for their time.
The 1666 census of New France was the first census conducted in North America.
It was organized by Jean Talon, the first Intendant of New France, between 1665 and
1666.
According to Talon's census there were 3,215 people in New France, comprising 538 separate
families.
The census showed a great difference in the number of men at 2,034 versus 1,181 women.
By the early 1700s the New France settlers were well established along the Saint Lawrence
River and Acadian Peninsula with a population around 15,000 to 16,000.
Mainly due to natural increase and modest immigration from Northwest France the population
of New France increased to 55,000 according to the last French census of 1754.
This was an increases from 42,701 in 1730.
British Canada
During the late 18th and early 19th century Canada under British rule experienced strong
population growth.
In the wake of the 1775 invasion of Canada by the newly formed Continental Army during
the American Revolutionary War, approximately 60,000 to 70,000 United Empire Loyalist had
fled to British North America, a large portion of whom migrated to New Brunswick.
Lower Canada's population had reached approximately 553,000, with Upper Canada reaching about
237,000 individuals by 1831.
The Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s had significantly increased the pace of Irish immigration to
Prince Edward Island and the Province of Canada, peaking in 1847 with 100,000 distressed individuals.
By 1851, the population of the Maritime colonies also reached roughly 533,000.
To the west British Columbia had about 55,000 individuals by 1851.
Beginning in the late 1850s, the immigration of Chinese into the Colony of Vancouver Island
and Colony of British Columbia peaked with the onset of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush.
By 1861, as a result of natural births and the Great Migration of Canada from the British
Isles, the Province of Canada population increased to 2.5 million inhabitants.
Newfoundland's population by 1861 reached approximately 125,000 individuals.
Post-confederation The population has increased every year since
the establishment of the Dominion of Canada in 1867; however, the population of Newfoundland
was not included in post-confederation tallies prior to its entry into confederation as Canada's
tenth province in 1949.
The first national census of the country was taken in 1871, with a population count around
3,689,000.
The year with the least population growth was 1882–1883, when only 30,000 new individuals
were enumerated.
The 1911 census was a detailed enumeration of the population showing a count of 7,206,643
individuals.
This was an increase of 34% over the 1901 census of 5,371,315.
The year with the most population growth was during the peak of the Post-World War II baby
boom in 1956–1957, when the population grew by over 529,000, in a single twelve-month
period.
The Canadian baby boom defined from 1947 to 1966, saw more than 400,000 babies born.
The 1996 census attempted to count every person in the country, totaling a population count
of 28,846,761.
This was a 5.7% increase over the 1991 census of 27,296,859.
The 2001 census had a total population count of 30,007,094.
In contrast, the official Statistics Canada population estimate for 2001 was 31,021,300.
Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897.
This count was lower than the official 1 July 2006 population estimate of 32,623,490 people.
Ninety-percent of the population growth between 2001 and 2006 was concentrated in the main
metropolitan areas.
The 2011 census was the fifteenth decennial census with a total population count of 33,476,688
up 5.9% from 2006.
On average, censuses have been taken every five years since 1905.
Censuses are required to be taken at least every ten years as mandated in section 8 of
the Constitution Act, 1867.
Components of population growth Canada's current annual population growth
rate is 1.238%, or a daily increase of 1,137 individuals.
Between 1867 and 2009 Canada's population grew by 979%.
It will have taken 144 years to do so.
Canada had the highest net migration rate of all G-8 member countries between 1994 and
2004.
Natural growth accounts for an annual increase of 137,626 persons, at a yearly rate of 0.413%.
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 persons.
Since 2001, immigration has ranged between 221,352 and 262,236 immigrants per annum.
Population by years Prior to Canadian confederation in 1867 the
population counts reflected only the former colonies and settlements and not the country
to be as a whole with Aboriginal nations separated.
Ephemeral European settlements Former colonies and territories
17th century 18th century
19th century Canada as a whole since confederation
Census data by years and projected data Modern population distribution
By province and territory
List of population centres in Alberta List of population centres in British Columbia
List of population centres in Manitoba List of population centres in New Brunswick
List of population centres in Newfoundland and Labrador
List of population centres in the Northwest Territories
List of population centres in Nova Scotia List of population centres in Nunavut
List of population centres in Ontario List of population centres in Prince Edward
Island List of population centres in Quebec
List of population centres in Saskatchewan List of population centres in Yukon
By cities and municipalities
List of largest Canadian cities by census List of the 100 largest municipalities in
Canada by population First Nations
List of Indian reserves in Canada by population See also
Demographics of Canada List of Canadian provinces and territories
by Human Development Index Canada – Wikipedia book
References
Further reading
External links Annual Estimates of Population for Canada,
Provinces and Territories, from July 1, 1971 to July 1, 2014 - Economics and Statistics
Branch Population and Dwelling Count, 2011 Census
– Statistics Canada Population estimates and projections, 2010
– 2036 – Statistics Canada Historical population and migration statistical
data – Statistics Canada Population Institute of Canada