Skip to content

Non-permanent residents in Canada undercounted by one million: CIBC

2023083012080-64ef67c8e935f42fce459c4cjpeg
The Willowdale Welcome Centre for refugees in Toronto is seen on April 20, 2020. A new CIBC Capital Markets report says the official number of non-permanent residents in Canada often cited by policymakers could be vastly underestimated. The report says the actual number could be off by one million, meaning any policies around housing or those aimed at capping the number of non-permanent residents might be more urgent than previously thought. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — A new CIBC Capital Markets report says the official number of non-permanent residents in Canada often cited by policymakers could be vastly underestimated.

The report says the actual number could be off by one million, meaning any policies around housing or those aimed at capping the number of non-permanent residents might be more urgent than previously thought.

Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC, says the significant gap is in part because the federal government does not have a system to track people with expired visas who continue to stay in the country.

While forecasting is difficult, population estimates are crucial because cities and provinces use them to inform their budgets and plan future housing and infrastructure projects. 

Canada's population hit a milestone of 40 million earlier this year. 

With the underestimation of non-permanent residents, the report says from a housing perspective, it's the equivalent of more than two years of building capacity. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.

The Canadian Press


Looking for National Business News?

VillageReport.ca viewed on a mobile phone

Check out Village Report - the news that matters most to Canada, updated throughout the day.  Or, subscribe to Village Report's free daily newsletter: a compilation of the news you need to know, sent to your inbox at 6AM.

Subscribe