StatCan is projecting steady population growth over the next 24 years. (Photo: Fintastique | Dreamstime.com)

By David Opinko

Alberta’s population likely to reach 7 million by 2048: StatCan

Jun 24, 2024 | 1:40 PM

The province could continue to see steady population growth over the next 24 years.

That is according to new population estimates released by Statistics Canada (StatCan).

As of April 1, 2024, Alberta was home to 4,849,906 people.

Under the agency’s medium-growth scenario, that could rise to around 7,044,700 residents by 2048. This would be an increase of approximately 45 per cent.

Looking at the high and low-growth scenarios, the population could grow as large as 8,048,000 or as small as 6,276,200 respectively.

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Officials are projecting that international immigration will continue to be the key driver of population gains over the next 25 years.

StatCan is also forecasting that Alberta will become an older province over time.

The proportion of seniors aged 65 and up could increase from 15.1 per cent of the total population in 2023 to 19.8 per cent in 2048. Those aged 85 or older could grow to 4.2 per cent, up from the current 1.6 per cent.

On the other hand, youths aged 0-14 could fall from 18 per cent to just 15.3 per cent in that time.

Nationally, Canada’s population could grow to over 51 million by 2048 under the medium-growth scenario. It could potentially range between 45 million and nearly 60 million.

Use the interactive dashboard from StatCan below to learn more about the population estimates.

A high-level summary of the data can be found on the StatCan website.

READ MORE: Alberta accounted for 20% of national population growth in first quarter