# The real story behind Toronto’s stalled population growth

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2026-07-10

toronto, population, immigration, migration, housing

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/b14716f3972f32faa678892f3715a0cf05753c8b76b0116139ff7ab09e3107ac.png)

How quickly things can change. In 2024, the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area was the fastest-growing region in Canada and the US. Then, last year, it lost around 1,000 people and dropped to 443rd place. See above chart. The obvious explanation is Canada's concerted effort to reduce temporary workers and international students. But actually, Toronto is still one of the top regions when it comes to net _international_ migration, adding 53,000 people in 2025. The real story, according to [recent analysis](https://www.torontomu.ca/centre-urban-research-land-development/blog/blogentry109-toronto-no-longer-fastest-growing-metropolitan-area-in-canada-and-us/) from the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at TMU, is that Toronto has simply gotten too expensive, driving massive domestic out-migration. Last year, Toronto lost 77,500 people this way, wiping out its natural growth and its net international migration gains. This is our regular reminder that we need to be far better at delivering attainable housing at scale.

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_Cover photo by_ [_Frank Huang_](https://unsplash.com/@frankhme?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

_Chart from_ [_The Globe and Mail_](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-toronto-population-decline/)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/the-real-story-behind-torontos-stalled-population-growth)*