06:23 AM EDT, 09/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Canadian population growth slowed to 0.9% year over year as of July 1, the slowest non-pandemic pace in almost a decade, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-over-quarter basis, growth slowed to just 0.2% annualized, the weakest (non-pandemic) rate on record, dating back to World War II.

In other words, the overall Canadian population growth has almost completely stalled, noted the bank.

Population growth peaked at a "torrid" 3.2% in Q2 2024, recalled BMO.

If the trade war hadn't broken out, this would arguably have been the biggest economic story in Canada this year, given the widespread implications the population explosion has had on housing availability, inflation and productivity/infrastructure stress, according to the bank.

BMO expects that the much stricter targets will be largely maintained in the upcoming Immigration Levels Plan.