Alberta has crossed the five-million mark, and in doing so it has drawn more Canadians from other provinces than any other region for three years running, a quiet but steady reshaping of where the country lives. Statistics Canada's latest figures trace the movement across the spring of 2025, when Ontario's losses mirrored Alberta's gains and the nation's growth slowed to nearly a standstill. Beneath the numbers lies a shift in who is arriving and who is leaving: fewer temporary residents, especially students, are passing through, and the people who remain are reshaping the country's pace and d
Alberta Tops Interprovincial Migration for Third Straight Year as Ontario Posts Largest Net Losses
Twelve straight quarters at the top of the country
Mark
Alberta passed five million. Is that the headline?
Mimi
It's the milestone, but the more telling part is how the growth is built. Alberta gained 6,187 people from other provinces last quarter, yet permanent immigration brought in 11,538.
Mark
So interprovincial migration isn't even the biggest piece.
Mimi
Right. It's the piece that's been consistent, though. Twelve straight quarters at the top.
Luke
Worth noting these are Statistics Canada estimates, not a headcount. The provincial flows, like 8,780 Ontarians arriving, are estimated figures.
Mark
And Ontario is the mirror image?
Mimi
Largest net loss for 15 quarters running. In the Ontario-Alberta exchange, 8,780 went west and 5,793 came back, so the net was 2,987 to Alberta.
Luke
That net figure doesn't explain why people moved. The reporting gives the flows, not the motives, so I'd be careful attaching reasons.
Mark
What about the national slowdown?
Mimi
Canada grew 0.1 per cent, the lowest second-quarter rate outside pandemic years since 1946. Temporary residents are falling after federal rule changes, especially study permits.
Luke
Fair, though the source ties the decline to a trend that began after the rules took effect. It doesn't quantify how much of the drop the rules caused.
Mark
So what do we watch?
Mimi
Whether the temporary resident decline continues. Alberta's fell by 3,818 in the quarter.
Le Pouls
- Alberta has passed five million residents, yet its growth now rests on a slowing flow of temporary arrivals that once carried the country.
- Ontario is bleeding residents to other provinces for the fifteenth straight quarter, with the largest net losses in the country.
- Canada's population growth fell to 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, its weakest non-pandemic pace since 1946, as new federal rules tighten the temporary resident pipeline.
- The temporary resident population has now shrunk for three straight quarters nationally, and the question of whether that decline keeps dragging on growth remains open.
Alberta has crossed the five-million mark, and in doing so it has drawn more Canadians from other provinces than any other region for three years running, a quiet but steady reshaping of where the country lives. Statistics Canada's latest figures trace the movement across the spring of 2025, when Ontario's losses mirrored Alberta's gains and the nation's growth slowed to nearly a standstill. Beneath the numbers lies a shift in who is arriving and who is leaving: fewer temporary residents, especially students, are passing through, and the people who remain are reshaping the country's pace and direction.
Alberta now counts 5,029,346 people, a milestone that places the province above five million for the first time in this accounting. Statistics Canada's July 1 estimate also confirms that Alberta has drawn more Canadians from other provinces than any other region for three years in a row.
In the April-to-June quarter, Alberta gained 6,187 people through interprovincial moves, its twelfth consecutive quarter in the lead. Ontario sat at the opposite end, losing 6,154 residents and recording its fifteenth straight quarter of the largest net loss. Most of the movement ran between Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia and Alberta, with Ontario contributing the biggest share of newcomers.
Still, migration between provinces was not the main engine of growth. Permanent immigration added 11,538 people and natural increase added 5,361, while the temporary resident population fell by 3,818, pulling the total back. Alberta's overall growth was about 0.4 per cent for the quarter.
Nationally, the picture was far quieter. Canada grew only 0.1 per cent, its slowest non-pandemic second quarter since 1946, and British Columbia was the only jurisdiction to shrink. The decline in temporary residents, which followed new federal rules on study permits, has pulled the country's non-permanent population down from its October 2024 peak of 3.15 million to 3.02 million by July.
The coming releases will show whether Alberta keeps its interprovincial lead and whether the slide in temporary residents continues to weigh on growth across the country.
Alberta now has 5,029,346 people. That is the estimate Statistics Canada released Wednesday for July 1, and it puts the province over the five-million mark for the first time in this accounting. The agency's numbers also show that, for the third year running, Alberta has drawn more Canadians from other provinces than any other part of the country.
The measure here is net interprovincial migration: arrivals minus departures. In the second quarter of 2025, April through June, Alberta gained 6,187 people this way. That is the twelfth consecutive quarter it has led the country, which makes three full years. Ontario sits at the opposite end. It lost 6,154 residents to moves within Canada in the same quarter, and it has recorded the largest net loss for 15 straight quarters.
Most of Alberta's newcomers from elsewhere in Canada came from three provinces. Statistics Canada estimates that 8,780 Ontarians moved to Alberta over the quarter, while 5,793 Albertans went the other direction, a net gain of 2,987. Between Saskatchewan and Alberta, an estimated 3,289 people moved west and 2,225 moved east, for a net gain of 1,064. And 8,931 British Columbians relocated to Alberta against 7,906 who went from Alberta to B.C., a net gain of 1,025.
Movement from other provinces was not the largest driver of growth, however. Permanent international migration added 11,538 residents to Alberta in the quarter. Natural increase, meaning more births than deaths, contributed another 5,361. Pulling the other way, the number of temporary international residents in Alberta fell by 3,818. Altogether, Alberta's population grew by roughly 0.4 per cent over the three months.
The national picture was much quieter. Canada's population rose just 0.1 per cent in the second quarter, the lowest growth rate for that period, outside the pandemic years, since 1946, when comparable record-keeping began. British Columbia was the only province or territory to shrink, by 0.04 per cent.
The drop in temporary residents reflects a trend that began after new federal rules for temporary residents took effect, particularly for study permits for international students at post-secondary schools. Alberta has now seen its count of non-permanent residents decline for two straight quarters, and the country has seen three straight, after years of substantial growth. Nationally, that population peaked at 3.15 million in October 2024, or 7.6 per cent of the total population. By July 2025 it had dropped to 3.02 million, or 7.3 per cent.
The next releases will show whether Alberta's interprovincial lead holds and whether the decline in temporary residents keeps dragging on growth, in the province and across the country.
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur CBC.ca ↗
General News