Ottawa, Jun 17 (IANS): Canada's population reached a milestone of 40 million as of June 16, 2023, Statistics Canada has announced.

Canada's population is currently growing at a record-setting pace. In 2022, the number of Canadians rose by 1,050,110, which marks the first time in Canadian history that the population grew by over 1 million people in a single year with the annual growth rate reaching 2.7 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

While the previous growth rate record in the 1950s was mostly attributed to the high number of births during the post-war baby boom, international migration accounted for nearly all growth recorded in 2022, the national statistical agency said.

Canada is by far leading the G7 countries for population growth and this has been the case for the last two decades, the agency said.

If this rate of population growth was to stay constant in the years to come, the Canadian population could double in about 26 years, Statistics Canada said