Demographics | Spring 2026 rennie Landscape

This article is a section of the Spring 2026 edition of the rennie landscape, our semiannual report on the forces shaping housing markets in Metro Vancouver and across our key markets.

Each section of the landscape explores a different piece of the broader story—from interest rates and the economy to demographics, credit, and housing. Together, they provide context for understanding how these factors interact and what they mean for Metro Vancouver’s housing market.

British Columbia experienced population decline for the second time in its history in 2025, a direct result of the federal government’s plan to reduce the share of non-permanent population in Canada.
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HONEY, I SHRUNK THE PROVINCE
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If you’ve been feeling some whiplash trying to keep track of immigration levels in Canada over the past few years, you’re not alone. After a few years of runaway population growth that saw Canada grow by 3 million people in three years (and BC by 421,000), the federal government came up with a new immigration levels plan. It aims to reduce international migration by lowering the number of permanent resident admissions (to 395,000 in 2025 and 380,000 in 2026 & 2027) and by reducing the share of nonpermanent residents to 5% of the population, from a high of 7.6% in 2024.
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⁠The plan has started to yield results. To wit, Canada’s population fell by 102,000 people in 2025, and BC accounted for a disproportionate share of that decline with a loss of more than 41,000 people. This marked the second annual population decline in the province's history (the other being a 2,000 person decrease in 1874). The share of non-permanent residents nationally fell to 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
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⁠We haven’t abandoned immigration entirely: BC added more than 35,000 immigrants last year, albeit down from nearly 50,000 in 2024. That tally, however, was more than offset by the net outflow of more than 80,000 nonpermanent residents. Meanwhile, natural increase (the number of births minus the number of deaths) and net domestic migration were both fairly minimal last year.
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⁠The current plan is to reduce the nonpermanent resident share of the population through to the end of 2027. Any Moranis can see that this will lead to further population declines this year. As we noted in the last edition of the rennie landscape, nonpermanent residents are overwhelmingly renters, therefore we can expect further reductions in rental housing demand going forward.

MOVING UP THE PROPERTY LADDER
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Households across Canada move for myriad reasons. The majority of them tend to move close to home.
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Households move with relative frequency across Canada. Per a recent Statistics Canada study using 2022 data, about one-third of all Canadian households moved over a five-year period. Of those that move, the vast majority (94%) move within their province including almost two-thirds of all movers (62%) that stay within the same municipality. The reasons movers cite as the primary driver for the move tend to be wide ranging, but generally those that move within the same municipality and those that move to another municipality in the same province tend to be similar. Where the results differ is between those leaving the province and those staying.
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⁠Households who move to another province typically do so for work, to be closer to family, and for school. These are all liferelated reasons for moving. Those that move within the same municipality, however, move for things like larger or better housing, to become a homeowner, to live in a more desirable neighbourhood, or to form their own household (also known as moving out of your parents' basement). These reasons are all specifically related to housing and having a well-functioning housing market is key to meeting the majority of movers needs. Being able to deliver the type of housing people want, at a price they can afford, will always be paramount.

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