Population Revisions Rock Canada's Economic Outlook

Canada's population numbers have been revised after initial reports suggested a decline. Statistics Canada released new data showing that the country's population has actually increased in early 2026, rather than decreasing as previously thought.

The revision was caused by changes to estimates of temporary residents, who are not tracked accurately by Ottawa. This led to an increase of 240,000 temporary residents, or 9.4%, from the previous second quarter estimate.

Economists believe that there has been improvement in population data in recent years, but there's still a long way to go before it becomes reliable. The inaccuracies have big implications for assessing economic growth and immigration policy.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had cited Canada's shrinking population as a cause for the country's weak economy, but now that the population is rising, this claim may be less relevant.