Canada's population reached a record 41.8 million on July 1, 2026, with annual growth of just 0.5 percent—the slowest pace in decades—driven almost entirely by reduced international migration. Federal policy under the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan has lowered permanent resident targets to 380,000 annually while cutting temporary resident arrivals to 385,000, producing net outflows of non-permanent residents that reached 2.78 million (6.7 percent of the total population). Statistics Canada data show these outflows partially offset permanent inflows of roughly 99,000 in the second quarter, resulting in only 0.2 percent quarterly growth. Parliamentary Budget Office projections anticipated flat or minimal expansion for the full year as temporary resident reductions continue toward the 5 percent target by end-2027. Traders appear to weigh these sustained policy effects and ongoing net migration declines against earlier revisions that eliminated prior estimates of outright contraction.