Immigration will fuel Canada’s population growth with global birth rates waning

It is no surprise that Canada has been struggling with its population demographic for a while now. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why the country relies so heavily on immigration.

A recent study suggests that Canada will have to continue prioritizing immigration if they want to remain competitive in the global economy by the end of this century. The study The Lancet states that the global population is going to peak in the mid-century, and then steeply fall by 2100.

Important findings:

This forecast of a global population decline should be a warning for countries. The declining process will begin in the late 21st century. The study finds that the world population will hit a maximum of 9.73 billion in 2064, after which it will decline to 8.79 billion by the year 2100.

The study’s researchers have predicted Canada’s figures as well. The population in Canada is expected to peak at 45.2 million in 2078, after which it will drop to 44.1 million in 2100.

Earlier study:

However, these findings are in fact more conservative as compared to the forecast of the Conference Board of Canada in 2018, which suggested that the country’s population would be 45 million by 2040 if immigration levels were one percent of Canada’s population per year. That study also opined that Canada’s population growth would be completely dependent on immigration by 2030.

Current situation:

Even now, most of the country’s population growth is due to immigration. About 82 percent of the population growth in Canada in 2019 can be attributed to the arrival of immigrants. Just 18 percent of the growth can be traced back to new births. The birth rate is constantly falling, based on findings by Statistics Canada.