Saskatchewan’s population grew by 9,869 people in the third quarter of 2023 to a new all-time high of 1,218,976 people as of October 1. Saskatchewan has grown by 31,369 people over the past year.

The Government of Saskatchewan says that is the largest population growth in a single year in more than a century.

The population growth in the third quarter consisted of net international migration of 11,021 people and a natural increase (births minus deaths) of 766 offset by net interprovincial outmigration of 1,918 people.

Canada’s population grew by more than 430-thousand in the third quarter to 40.5-million and it’s the fastest pace of population growth in any quarter since 1957.

Statistics Canada reports the record-high growth is being driven by migration, and that an increase in non-permanent residents coming to Canada to work and study is mostly responsible.

In the third quarter of 2023, the vast majority, at 96 per cent, of the population growth was due to international migration. The remaining 4 per cent increase was due to natural increase, or the difference between the number of births and deaths. The contribution of natural increase to population growth is expected to remain low in the coming years because of population aging, lower fertility levels, and the high number of immigrants and non-permanent residents coming to Canada.

Canada welcomed 107,972 immigrants in the third quarter. From January to September 2023, immigration reached 79.8 per cent of Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s target of 465,000 immigrants for the year.

All provinces and territories recorded losses in their interprovincial migration exchanges in the third quarter of 2023 except for Alberta, which continued to have the highest net gains, up 17,094, and New Brunswick with a very small increase of 21.

Alberta has registered interprovincial migration gains of 10,000 or more for five consecutive quarters for the first time since comparable data were made available in 1971. Most of Alberta’s population gains through interprovincial migration were due to its exchanges with Ontario and British Columbia.