Statistics Canada reports major surges in Alberta's and Canada's populations in 2023. (Photo: Paulbradyphoto | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Alberta records largest population growth since StatCan tracking started in 1972

Mar 27, 2024 | 9:30 AM

Alberta saw a substantial increase to its population last year as people from other parts of the country and from elsewhere in the world flocked to the prairies.

Statistics Canada has released its final population update for 2023.

A total of 4,800,768 people called Alberta home at the end of the year.

In just 12 months, the provincial population grew by 202,324 people, the largest number since the agency started tracking it 52 years ago. The biggest jump came in the third quarter with 61,118 people settling down here.

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Nearly two-thirds of Alberta’s gains came from international immigration (64.7 per cent) as Alberta welcomed 130,870 new residents from other countries.

The province also saw the biggest jump in interprovincial migration in Canadian history. 55,107 Canadians moved to Alberta, accounting for 27.2 per cent of the entire growth in population.

Statistics Canada stated, “Alberta has been recording gains in population from interprovincial migration since 2022, a reverse of the trend seen from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada.”

The natural increase made up the smallest portion of population growth at 8.1 per cent as 16,347 babies were born in Alberta.

Nationally, the population increased to 40,769,890 at the end of 2023.

The country welcomed another 1,271,872 people (up 3.2 per cent) last year, which was the most substantial growth since 1957.

Almost all of the national growth came from immigration, accounting for 97.6 per cent. Included in the immigration numbers were 804,901 “non-permanent residents,” entailing those who are in the country on a work or study permit or who have claimed refugee status.

The full population update is available on the Statistics Canada website.

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