International migration main driver of Sask. population growth

Your wait at the Tim Hortons drive-thru may be a little longer, as Saskatchewan has more residents than ever before.

According to Statistics Canada, the province’s population reached its highest point ever in April of this year, with 1,231,043 people living in the province.

It’s taken quite a while to reach this point. Saskatchewan reached a million people in 1983. That number rose and fell over the years, dipping below a million in 2001 and then reaching the million mark again in 2007. Now, it seems the province will be sitting comfortably above that million mark for the foreseeable future.

Stacey Hallman is an analyst for Statistics Canada. She said many different factors lead to growth in population, but one in particular is having quite a big effect on Saskatchewan: international migration.

READ MORE:

• Canada’s population grew to ‘top 41 million in the first quarter’
• Sask. government introduces new immigration legislation
• Saskatchewan’s GDP grew by 1.6% in 2023, ahead of national average

“We have three main factors of growth for the provinces. The first is what we call natural increase, so that’s more births than deaths, and that’s very small in Saskatchewan and very small in Canada as well – it was only 392 people,” explained Hallman.

“But the biggest gain for Saskatchewan did come from international migration, so that was 6,356 people, and that includes both permanent immigration and temporary immigration.”

Most of the interprovincial migration tracked by Statistics Canada involved Saskatchewan’s neighbour to the west.

“The majority of people go to Alberta, and of all the people coming to Saskatchewan, the majority of people come from Alberta as well, so there is a very close relationship between Saskatchewan and Alberta in terms of interprovincial migration,” said Hallman.

Saskatchewan isn’t the only place in Canada seeing a growing population.

According to Statistics Canada’s report, Saskatchewan saw a growth rate of 0.5 per cent, just slightly below the national rate of 0.6 per cent. Saskatchewan is tied with Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec.