B.C. population could grow by more than 2 million: Statistics Canada
New population projections from Statistics Canada suggest overseas immigration will swell B.C. Population
A new report from Statistics Canada projects immigrants arriving from overseas could swell B.C.'s population by as many as two million people in the next 25 years.
The report lays out five scenarios, all based on the premise that B.C's population growth is tied almost entirely to overseas immigration. The province has 4.6 million residents.
Under the lowest growth scenario the province would see 600,000 more people by 2038.
Under the highest growth scenario, more than two million additional B.C residents would be concentrated mostly in Metro Vancouver.
Regardless of how much growth, Stats Canada says B.C. will not keep pace with Alberta. And 25 years from now, Alberta will have more people than B.C. because of inter-provincial migration.
B.C's population is currently larger than Alberta by about 560,000 people.
with files from Steve Lus