Population Growth Hits Record Low as Loonie Takes a Hit

Canada's annual population growth has slowed to its lowest level in over 80 years due to lower immigration, according to Statistics Canada.

The agency reported that the population added 189,425 people from July 2025 to July 2026, which is the lowest annual growth since 1944-1945 when the population increased by 126,000 people.

This represents a population growth of just 0.5 per cent in the past year, the lowest since the 0.3 per cent increase in 1915-1916.

The Canadian dollar is also down 1.7 per cent this month and fell below 71 cents U.S. in early trading on Wednesday for the first time since July as rising bets for more stateside interest rate hikes put pressure on the loonie.