The NWT’s population dropped by an estimated 102 people between July and October as immigration declined to its lowest since the pandemic.
The population as of October 1 was 45,848, the territory’s bureau of statistics said this week, down from 45,950 at the start of July.
It’s the NWT’s first quarterly drop in population since mid-2023 and the biggest since the last quarter of 2022.
The population is still about 300 people larger than it was last year, outpacing the growth of many provinces.
Canada as a whole just posted its largest quarterly population decline on record, driven by factors like new restrictions on the number of international students allowed into the country. For the first time in modern records, the populations of British Columbia and Ontario declined year on year.
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In the NWT, the number of newcomers from outside Canada fell in the past quarter to its lowest since mid-2021, a pandemic era when travel to the territory was restricted.
Net migration (the number of people arriving from abroad minus the number going the other way) added 48 people during July, August and September. By comparison, most quarters since 2022 recorded net immigration of more than 100 people.
