Population increase is a fundamental driving force of change. It automatically increases human consumption of natural resources and releases of pollution, unless consumption patterns change to reduce per capita impacts. Historically, rates of consumption and pollution have been rising faster than population, both in Canada and globally. The world passed a historic landmark this fall, when the global population crossed the six billion mark, a doubling since the late 1950s. The rate of population increase is slowing, but is still at about 78 million new inhabitants of Earth every year. Current UN estimates are that we will hit 7 billion in only 13 more years, 8 billion in 28 years and 9 billion by just after mid-century. Although Canada's population is growing slowly, our growth rate is higher than that in most industrialized countries. Our population growth is concentrated in areas with considerable environmental stresses, particularly around Toronto and Vancouver. Global population growth has global impacts that are felt in Canada, including pressures on the environment and demand for products that we export.

Year Population (000’s) 1861 3,230 1871 3,689 1881 4,325 1891 4,833 1901 5,371 1911 7,207 1921 8,788 1931 10,377 1941 11,507 1951 13,648 1956 16,081 1961 18,238 1966 20,015 1971 21,568 1976 23,550 1981 24,820 1986 26,101 1991 28,031 1994 29,036.0 1995 29,353.9 1996 29,672 1997 30,011.0 1998 30,301.2 2001 31,050.7 2006 32,248.6 2011 33,369 2016 34,428.8 2021 35,393.7 2026 36,205.3 *2050 *42,311

Assumptions about the Data Although population in Canada has increased steadily since Confederation in 1867, this has largely been due to immigration, and not natural increase. Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM * United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision, forthcoming (2050 population estimate) Download Excel file (56kB)