Canada has the Highest Population Growth Rate Among the G7 Countries

Canada has a population of nearly 37 million people, outpacing every other G7 country in terms of population growth. This information comes directly from the 2021 census data, which was released earlier this year. There are approximately 1.8 million more people in Canada than there were five years ago, representing a 5.2% increase.

And, in case you’re wondering, immigration, not birth rates, drove Canada’s population growth from 2016 to 2021. According to census data, Canada is expected to maintain a positive natural growth rate for the next 50 years due to citizens having babies. However, newcomers accounted for the majority of population growth.

In 2019, for example, the country’s population increased by 583,000 people, or 1.6%, a record high. demonstrating that the majority of the growth occurred prior to the outbreak of the pandemic.

However, with the implementation of the global border and travel restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, population growth from immigration will be less than one-quarter of what it was the previous year.

It is claimed that population growth in 2020 was so low that we would have to go back 100 years to the First World War to find population growth that low.

Still, with all the uncertainties in the world due to the pandemic, Canada led the other G7 countries over the year.

Downtown Toronto’s Population Grew Three Times Faster than the Rest of the City

When it comes to housing, Canada is frequently compared to its G7 peers, but this is only relevant for certain issues — and housing is not one of them. According to a report by the Bank of Montreal, Canada has the lowest housing stock per person in the G7. Furthermore, the average home in the United States is 41% more expensive than it was in January 2020. In Toronto, the average home price has risen by 52% in the last two years. These two ingredients alone are the recipe for supply and demand fluctuations.

According to the data, the country has also become more urban, with residents settling in city cores faster than in the previous five years. Downtown Toronto’s population grew three times faster than the rest of the city.

The number of Canadians living in rural areas in 2021 was 6,601,982, an increase of 0.4 per cent over 2016, but that growth rate was far below that of Canada’s urban centres, which grew at a rate of 6.3 per cent—proving against the perception that a large chunk of city dwellers moved to rural areas at the beginning of the pandemic. With 6,202,225 residents, Toronto remains Canada’s most populous Census Metropolitan Centre (CMA). Montreal came in second with 4,291,732 residents, followed by Vancouver with 2,642,825 residents. City living, particularly in Toronto, remains in high demand.

At the same time, the housing supply in Canada has increased over the last two decades, which is great news for the country as a whole. However, in cities, this increase is insufficient. Let’s take Ontario as an example: at the current rate of construction, which is thought to be fast, the province will be short 70,000 homes and 200,000 rental units over the next ten years.

Some even speculate that as the number of dwellings increases, more residents will choose to live alone, putting additional strain on the urban real estate market. According to the 2016 census, one-person households surpassed couples with children as the most common type of household in Canada for the first time.

At the time, StatsCan suggested that the trend of living alone had increased demand for smaller, individual housing units, which can be built in more significant numbers than houses.

“One in Every Five Newcomers to Canada Buys a Home”

As a result, while urban planning prioritizes single-occupancy homes, family-sized homes are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, particularly across the country’s CMAs.

Housing shortages and price increases go hand in hand. When demand for a product is high and supply is low, prices tend to rise. Prices tend to be lower when demand for a product is low and supply is plentiful. The real estate market is no different.

Canada is not only talking the talk when it comes to opening its borders to immigration; it is also walking the walk, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Even with the unexpected pandemic in 2020, Canada announced its commitment to accept over 1.2 million immigrants over the next three years in 2020. Canada is targeting approximately 432,000 new immigrants this year under its new Immigration Levels Plan 2022-2024, which would be the highest in history.

According to current data, one in every five newcomers to Canada buys a home, while the rest rent. Ontario is home to half of all renters. This is something to think about depending on what you’re looking for in a home, rent vs. own.

If you are an investor, the growing population is an opportunity to have income properties that are always in demand. Both Canadians and 4 in 5 immigrants are in the market for rental properties, which are already short by 200,000 over the next ten years, says the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) and Urbanation.

Condominiums are one of the most cost-effective choices available if you’re seeking for a home to utilize as your primary house.

For both condo investors and those looking for a residence to call home, working with Ray Homes Team to help you navigate the changing marketplace is a must and the secret to securing a unit.