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Canada ushers in 2022 with record COVID-19 cases after muted New Year’s Eve – Global News

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Several parts of Canada ushered in 2022 by documenting record-setting COVID-19 case counts after a quiet New Year’s Eve dampened by tightened public health restrictions and fears of getting sick in the latest wave of the pandemic.

Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador all logged new peaks in their daily COVID-19 counts, in some cases continuing a streak of rapid infection growth and toppling previous records set just 24 hours earlier.

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Read more:

Hospitalizations are rising thanks to Omicron, but future impact is uncertain: experts

Health officials in Quebec reported 17,122 new COVID-19 cases on New Year’s Day, marking the fifth straight day that a record number of new infections have been reported in the province. It also recorded 12 more deaths linked to COVID-19 and 98 more people in hospital, for a total of 1,161 patients.

Quebec residents rang in the new year under a newly instituted, provincewide curfew. The rules took effect Friday and required everyone to be home by 10 p.m., and to stay there until 5 a.m.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association condemned the new measures, saying the government has presented no evidence that a curfew will work to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“A curfew is particularly problematic because it purports to empower police officers to stop and question individuals simply for being outdoors at certain times of day,” Cara Zwibel, the association’s director of fundamental freedoms and acting general counsel, said in a statement Friday evening. “The burden of these police stops is likely to fall disproportionately on racialized individuals and other marginalized groups.”

Quebec is the only province in Canada to use a curfew as part of its efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.

In Ontario, meanwhile, public health officials reported a staggering 18,445 new cases Saturday, trouncing Friday’s record-setting tally of 16,713 new diagnoses. Ontario is one of several jurisdictions to have changed its availability of polymerase chain reaction testing for COVID-19 and as a result, public health warned that Saturday’s figures represent an “underestimate.”


Click to play video: 'More provinces impose new COVID-19 restrictions amid Omicron surge'



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More provinces impose new COVID-19 restrictions amid Omicron surge


More provinces impose new COVID-19 restrictions amid Omicron surge

Twelve more Ontarians died because of COVID-19 since Friday, and 85 more people are now in hospital, according to data released by Public Health Ontario. The data did not include the total number of hospitalizations.

Dr. Kevin Smith, president and CEO of the province’s University Health Network, tweeted Saturday about “the rapid and concerning growth” of hospitalizations. Tagging Health Canada, Smith asked how he could help get Paxlovid, Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pills, “immediately” approved “for emergency use.”

“We need this powerful tool in our arsenal yesterday,” he tweeted

The trappings of pandemic-era new year’s festivities were evident throughout the country, but were particularly striking in Canada’s eastern-most province.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the first province in Canada to ring in the new year and in normal times, revelers are sure to find a rambunctious New Year’s Eve crowd on George Street, an infamous strip of bars in downtown St. John’s.


Click to play video: 'Some Canadian provinces reduce COVID-19 isolation periods'



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Some Canadian provinces reduce COVID-19 isolation periods


Some Canadian provinces reduce COVID-19 isolation periods

But on Friday night, the cobblestone strip was deserted; bars and lounges in the province were closed on Dec. 23 as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 drove case counts upward.

The province reported a record-breaking 442 new infections Saturday _ more than four times the peak amount reported during a Delta variant outbreak in February that sidelined the provincial election. Health Minister John Haggie announced in a Facebook post that he was among those who’d tested positive for COVID-19, and that he is isolating at home.

“I know there are many families in the same situation and we will get through this,” Haggie wrote in his post.

There are 2,150 active reported COVID-19 cases in Newfoundland and Labrador, but only one person is hospitalized, officials said in a statement on Twitter.

Officials in Nunavut reported 50 new cases, including two new infections in the community of Chesterfield Inlet. The territory is now battling confirmed COVID-19 infections in 10 of its communities and waiting for testing to confirm infections in one more, a government press release said Saturday.

“This outbreak of COVID-19 is spreading more quickly and easily than any others we’ve experienced,” Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavut’s chief public health officer said in the release. “Nunavummiut need to prepare for surges in case numbers and infections in every community.”

Read more:

Nearly every province sets new record for COVID-19 cases as Omicron sweeps Canada

Earlier this week, Patterson extended a territory-wide “circuit-breaker” lockdown as the spread of COVID-19 infections pushes Nunavut’s health-care system to a breaking point.

Manitobans began the new year with new isolation rules in effect, requiring fully-vaccinated residents who test positive for COVID-19 to quarantine for five days instead of 10, even if their results came from a rapid antigen test.

Those who are not fully immunized must isolate for 10 days.

– With files from Jacob Serebrin in Montreal

© 2022 The Canadian Press

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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Why Canada's record population growth is helping – and hurting – the economy – CTV News

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Canada has recorded the fastest population growth in 66 years, increasing by 1.3 million people, or 3.2 per cent, in 2023, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The country has not seen such growth since 1957, when the spike was attributed to the baby boom and an influx of immigrants fleeing Hungary.

The vast majority of Canada’s growth last year was due to immigration, with temporary residents — which includes foreign workers and international students — making up the largest proportion of newcomers.

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“We need people coming to Canada to help with our economy,” says Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of planning at the University of Toronto. “There are many jobs and professions where there are vacancies, and that is having an impact, whether in the healthcare sector or trades and construction sector.”

Siemiatycki adds immigrants also bring “ingenuity… resources… and culture” to Canada.

Newcomers are relied on to help keep pace with Canada’s aging population and declining fertility rates, but the influx also presents a challenge for a country struggling to build the homes and infrastructure needed for immigrants.

“It’s an incredibly large shock for the economic system to absorb because of just the sheer number of people coming into the country in a short period of time,” says Robert Kavcic. a senior economist and director with BMO Capital Markets.

“The reality is population can grow extremely fast, but the supply side of the economy like housing and service infrastructure, think health care and schools, can only catch up at a really gradual pace,” Kavcic says. “So there is a mismatch right now.”

The impact of that mismatch can most acutely be seen in the cost of rent, services and housing.

In December, Kavcic wrote in a note that Canada needs to build 170,000 new housing units every three months to keep up with population growth, noting the industry is struggling to complete 220,000 units in a full year.

To address this, Ottawa has announced plans to cap the number of new temporary residents while also reducing the number of international student visas, a move economists say could offer some relief when it comes to housing and the cost of living.

“The arithmetic on the caps actual works relatively well because it would take us back down to 1 per cent population growth which we have been used to over the last decade and which is more or less absorbable by the economy,” Kavcic says. “The question is whether or not we see policy makers follow through and hit those numbers.”

Economists believe these changes could help ease inflationary pressures and may make a Bank of Canada rate cut more likely, but could also lead to slower GDP growth.

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Canada’s population hits 41M months after breaking 40M threshold – Global News

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Nine months after reaching a population of 40 million, Canada has cracked a new threshold.

As of Wednesday morning, it’s estimated 41 million people now call the country home, according to Statistics Canada’s live population tracker.

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The speed at which Canada’s population is growing was also reflected in new data released Wednesday by the federal agency: between Jan. 1 2023 and Jan. 1 2024, Canada added 1,271,872 inhabitants, a 3.2 per cent growth rate — the highest since 1957.

Most of Canada’s 3.2 per cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration. Without it, Canada’s population growth would have been 1.2 per cent, Statistics Canada said.


Click to play video: 'Business News: Job growth fails to keep pace with population'

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Business News: Job growth fails to keep pace with population


From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, Canada’s population increased by 241,494 people (0.6 per cent), the highest rate of growth in a fourth quarter since 1956.

Usha George, a professor at the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement at Toronto Metropolitan University, told Global News in June a booming population can benefit the economy.

“It is not the bodies we are bringing in; these are bodies that fill in the empty spaces in the labour market,” she said.

“They bring a very-high level of skills.”


Click to play video: 'Canadian millennials surpass baby boomers as dominant generation: StatCan'

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Canadian millennials surpass baby boomers as dominant generation: StatCan


However, Ottawa has recently sought to ease the flow of temporary immigration in a bid to ease cost-of-living woes.


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Immigration Minister Marc Miller said on March 21 Ottawa would set targets for temporary residents allowed into Canada to ensure “sustainable” growth in the number of temporary residents entering the nation.

The next day, BMO economist Robert Kavcic in a note to clients the new limits will have a positive impact on Canada’s rental market and overall housing crisis.

“We’ve been firm in our argument that Canada has had an excess demand problem in housing, and this is maybe the clearest example,” Kavcic said.

“Non-permanent resident inflows, on net, have swelled to about 800K in the latest year, with few checks and balances in place, putting tremendous stress on housing supply and infrastructure.”

Alberta gains, Ontario loses: A look at Canadian migration in 2023

If Alberta is truly calling, then it appears more Canadians are choosing to answer.

Putting the pun on the provincial government’s attraction campaign aside, Canada’s wild rose country saw the largest net gain in interprovincial migration in 2023, Statistics Canada said in Wednesday’s report.


Click to play video: 'Is Alberta ready for population growth?'

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Is Alberta ready for population growth?


The agency said 55,107 Canadians moved to Alberta last year, which was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data become available in 1972.

“Alberta has been recording gains in population from interprovincial migration since 2022, a reverse of the trend seen from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada,” Statistics Canada said.

“Approximately 333,000 Canadians moved from one province or territory to another in 2023, the second-highest number recorded since the 1990s and the third straight year that interprovincial migration topped 300,000.”

Meanwhile, British Columbia had 8,624 more residents move out than in in 2023, meaning net interprovincial migration was negative for the first time since 2012, Statistics Canada said.

In general, the largest migration flows for British Columbia and Alberta are with each other, and most of the net loss from British Columbia in 2023 was to Alberta, it added.


Click to play video: '‘Enormous pressure’ expected in Ontario home care due to high growth of senior population'

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‘Enormous pressure’ expected in Ontario home care due to high growth of senior population


It also seems that good things may no longer be growing in Ontario; Canada’s most populous province lost 36,197 people to other regions in 2023, the biggest regional loss in 2023, Statistics Canada said.

That followed a loss of 38,816 people in 2022; the only other times a province has lost more than 35,000 people due to migration to other parts of Canada occurred in Quebec in 1977 and 1978.

Alberta aside, net interprovincial migration was also up in Nova Scotia (+6,169 people), New Brunswick (+4,790) and Prince Edward Island (+818), although all three Maritime provinces gained fewer interprovincial migrants in 2023 than in the two previous years, Statistics Canada said.

— with files from Uday Rana and Sean Previl

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