For the 14th consecutive quarter, Alberta recorded the largest net gain from migratory exchanges between the provinces and territories. The net gain seen in Alberta (+3,684 people) from Oct. 1, 2025, to Jan. 1, 2026, was lower than in the same quarter of 2024, when the province saw a net gain of 4,993 people from interprovincial migration.
Despite the drop, the net gain for Alberta in the fourth quarter of 2025 was far larger than the net gains seen in British Columbia (+1,227) and Nova Scotia (+826), the only other provinces or territories that experienced net gains from interprovincial migration.
Meanwhile, Ontario (-1,598) and Quebec (-1,579) had almost identical losses to interprovincial migration in the fourth quarter of 2025. This represented a larger loss for Quebec compared with the same quarter in 2024 (-1,093), while it was a smaller loss for Ontario (-2,082).
Looking at the country as a whole, Statistics Canada stated that preliminary demographic estimates indicate that Canada’s population was 41,472,081 on Jan. 1, 2026.
According to these preliminary estimates, the population of Canada decreased by 103,504 people (-0.2 per cent) from Oct. 1, 2025, to Jan. 1, 2026.
You can view the full Statistics Canada data online.