The view of downtown Lethbridge from the top of the Melcor Centre. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Up to 7.3-million Albertans projected by 2043

Stats Canada: Alberta to lead population growth in coming decades

Sep 19, 2019 | 6:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Statistics Canada has released its projections on the Country’s population over the next 50 years as well as where they think each province or territory would be by then.

By 2068, they believe there could be as many as 55.2-million Canadians, growing from 37.1-million in 2018. At the lowest end of their projections, Canada could be home to 44.4-million people, or as high as 70.2-million.

More than half of the country’s population growth is expected to come from Alberta and Ontario.

“In all scenarios, the rate of population growth in Alberta would be the highest among Canadian provinces over the next 25 years,” reads the report from Stats Canada.

In 2043, it is projected that Alberta’s population will increase from 4.3-million in 2018 to somewhere between six million and 7.3-million.

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While Stats Canada did not provide an exact estimate from B.C.’s population in 2043, the agency believes there will be more people in the prairie province than the Pacific.

As of the beginning of 2019, the Province of British Columbia recorded just over five million residents.

Alberta is also forecast to have fewer seniors per capita than the national average. 16.5% to 21.8% of Albertans will be aged 65 or older in 2043.

Immigration is believed to be the main driver of population growth over the next 50 years.

Stats Canada expects the birth rate to fall slightly in the coming decades.