AI Analysis: Population estimates, quarterly

Executive Summary

Canada's population has grown 240.3% over 80 years, rising from 12.2 million in Q1 1946 to 41.5 million in Q1 2026, based on Statistics Canada's quarterly estimates covering 15 geographic regions. The dataset reveals extreme variation across regions — from as few as 9,000 persons in smaller territories to over 41.6 million nationally — producing a strongly right-skewed distribution where the mean (4.1 million) is more than four times the median (944,000). Most regions share strong positive population growth correlations over time, though smaller territories like Yukon and the Northwest Territories follow distinct demographic patterns.

Key Findings

• Canada's total population grew 240.3% over 80 years, from 12,188,000 persons in Q1 1946 to 41,472,081 persons in Q1 2026, across 321 quarterly periods.
• The dataset covers 15 geographic regions with population values ranging from a minimum of 9,000 persons (smaller territories) to a maximum of 41,651,653 persons (Canada national total).
• The distribution is strongly right-skewed, with a mean of ~4.1 million and a median of ~944,000 — a gap of over 4x driven by the national aggregate figure alongside small territorial populations.
• Ontario and Quebec are historically the most populous provinces, while Alberta and British Columbia show notably accelerating growth in recent decades.
• Outlier detection identified 12 quarters where population change deviated more than 2.5 standard deviations from the average quarterly growth of ~91,513 persons, signaling structural demographic shifts at specific points in history.
• Nearly all province pairs show high positive correlations in population growth trends, though smaller territories like Yukon and the Northwest Territories exhibit weaker correlations with larger provinces, reflecting different demographic dynamics.
• The interquartile range spans from 157,494 to 4,311,439 persons — a factor of ~27x — underscoring the vast demographic diversity among Canada's provinces and territories tracked over 80 years.