Canada population drops as foreign students reduce

Canada recorded its largest quarterly decline in population in at least 80 years between July and September this year, with the falling population attributed to a decrease in temporary resident numbers, particularly international students.

- Anirudh Bhattacharyya

According to estimates published by Statistics Canada on Wednesday, the decrease between the second and third quarters of 2025 amounted to 76,068 persons, or 0.2%.

Going by StatCan data dating back to 1946, there hasn’t been a sharper decline in the country's population. The last time Canada’s population fell was during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it dropped marginally in the last quarter to 2020 over the previous three-month period. That decrease was marginal, at just 1,232 people.