'Phenomenally high': London's population boom continued in 2022
Already one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities, London kept booming in 2022, expanding by another three per cent, the latest federal population snapshot shows.
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Already one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities, London kept booming in 2022, expanding by another three per cent, the latest federal population snapshot shows.
London’s growth was boosted in large part by international migration, including newcomers who land with permanent resident status, such as refugees, and non-permanent residents, such as international students, new Statistics Canada figures show.
In fact, three in every four of the London area’s 16,844 new residents between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, were immigrants.
That puts the total population for the London metropolitan area, including Strathroy, St. Thomas and parts of Elgin and Middlesex counties, at 574,238.
“We have never seen that many immigrants settle in London, as this is of the order of two to three times higher than what we normally see in terms of ‘landed immigrants,’ ” said Don Kerr, a King’s University College demographer.
By contrast, London’s population growth as a result of natural increase hit a record low over the same period with a net gain of just 422 people, Kerr said.
“With substantial population growth, the number of births is up modestly but, with population aging, the number of deaths continues to climb,” he said.
Since 2001, Kerr noted, total births in London have grown by about 12 per cent; that’s despite the London region’s total population rising by about 28 per cent.
At three per cent – a growth rate Kerr said was “phenomenally high” and highly unlikely to continue – London was Ontario’s third-fastest-growing community, after Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Barrie.
That’s a small drop for the London region, which ranked first in the province between 2016 and 2021, growing by a whopping 10 per cent, according to the latest census figures.
The high number of newcomers coming to London comes as no surprise given the federal government’s aggressive immigration targets, Kerr said.
In 2022, Canada welcomed 431,645 new permanent residents, the most in the country’s history.
“What’s happening nationally is quite remarkable,” Kerr said.
“Canada’s population grew by a phenomenal 1.8 per cent in 2021-22. This is almost double what we have been seeing over recent decades, as the national growth rate has been hovering at about one per cent, if not lower.”
But some dynamics within London’s population are beginning to shift as living costs keep rising, said Mike Moffatt, a professor at Western University’s Ivey business school.
Where London gained residents from other provinces in 2016-21, the city now saw a net loss of more than 1,100 people to other provinces last year.
“We’re seeing Londoners leave for other provinces in a way that they hadn’t before,” Moffatt said. “We’re still affordable for Torontonians moving from the GTA, but with prices in Halifax about half of what they are in London, that’s really attractive.”
Though average home resale prices dropped dramatically in 2022, to a low of $612,000 in December, high interest rates have made it hard for many to enter the local housing market.
At the same time, London rents have skyrocketed, doubling in just six years. The average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, for instance, was $2,153 in December, according to Rentals.ca, a website landlords use to advertise units.
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