PEI Population Report Quarterly

Population Report, First Quarter 2026

DIAGRAM 1: PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND POPULATION, QUARTERLY, 2021 - 2026

On June 17, 2026 Statistics Canada published its provincial population estimates for the first quarter of 2026. The data shows Prince Edward Island’s population was estimated to be 181,715 as of April 1, 2026. This represents a yearly increase of 426 people or a 0.2 percent annual growth rate. This is the fourth highest year-over-year growth rate among provinces and territories, behind Nunavut (1.0%), Alberta (0.9%), and Yukon (0.8%). PEI’s population has declined in each of the last three quarters. Year-over-year population growth has slowed in each of the past ten quarters, after reaching an all-time high of 4.3 percent during the third quarter of 2023.

Canada’s population decreased by 187,499 people year-over-year to total 41,417,056 as of April 1, 2026, a decline of 0.5 percent from one year ago. 

The quarterly estimates since January 1, 2024 and growth rates for Canada and Prince Edward Island can be seen in Table 1. 

TABLE 1: CANADA AND PEI POPULATION & GROWTH RATES, QUARTERLY

Only five jurisdictions saw a year-over-year population increase for April 1, 2026 as compared to April 1, 2025. Population estimates for April 1, 2025 and 2026 for all provinces and territories are shown in Table 2 below. The population growth rates and level change for the twelve-month period are also included.

TABLE 2: POPULATION OF PROVINCES & TERRITORIES & ANNUAL GROWTH RATES

Components of Population Change

The total change in PEI’s population during the first quarter of 2026 (January 1, 2026 to April 1, 2026) was -286 people, or -0.2 percent.

Natural Increase

There were 376 births and 442 deaths on Prince Edward Island from January 1, 2026 to April 1, 2026, resulting in natural growth (births minus deaths) of -66. Deaths have either outpaced or equaled births in each quarter since the third quarter of 2021.

International Migration

During first quarter 2026, 628 international immigrants came to the province. At a rate of 3.5 per thousand, the province had the fourth highest quarterly immigration rate in the country. The immigration rate for Canada was 2.0 per thousand.

Total net international migration was estimated to be -181 people during the first quarter of 2026. This consisted of the aforementioned 628 international immigrants plus 334 non-permanent residents (NPRs) and 18 returning Canadians entering the province, while 1,113 NPRs and 48 international emigrants left the province. Net international migration for PEI over the last 12-month period (April 2025 to March 2026) was -357. This compares to +2,789 over the previous 12-month period.

It was estimated that there were 334 new non-permanent resident permits issued for PEI during the first quarter of 2026, while 1,113 NPR permits expired, for a net change of -779. As of April 1, 2026, there were 9,589 NPRs on PEI consisting of 5,222 work permit holders, 2,983 study permit holders, 878 with both work and study permits, 320 other permit holders, and 186 asylum claimants. NPRs include foreign workers, foreign students, the humanitarian population and other temporary residents. The humanitarian population includes refugee claimants and temporary residents who are allowed to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds and are not categorized as either foreign workers or foreign students.

Inter-provincial Migration

A total of 1,216 inter-provincial migrants came to PEI during the first quarter of 2026, while 1,255 people left the province for other areas of Canada, for a net interprovincial loss of 39. This compares to a net gain of 537 people over the same period in 2025. As shown in Table 3, the primary source of PEI’s inter-provincial in-migrants during this period was from Ontario, followed by Nova Scotia and Alberta. The main destinations of out-migrants from Prince Edward Island were Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Ontario. Ontario gained the most from inter-provincial migration, with 31.3 percent of all interprovincial migrants from other provinces destined for Ontario.

TABLE 3: ORIGIN & DESTINATION OF INTER-PROVINCIAL MIGRANTS

Prince Edward Island quarterly components of growth from October 1, 2023 to April 1, 2026 can be seen in table 4. 

TABLE 4: PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND QUARTERLY POPULATION AND COMPONENTS OF CHANGE

DIAGRAM 2: PEI COMPONENTS OF POPULATION CHANGE, FIRST QUARTER 2026

Related downloads for this release:

PEI Population Report Quarterly PDF (179KB)

Notes:

1. These are preliminary data that will be subject to revisions over the coming year and beyond.
2. These estimates are based on 2021 Census of Population counts, adjusted for census net undercoverage and incompletely enumerated Indian reserves. To these counts, the population growth estimates for the period from May 11, 2021, to the date of the estimate are added.
3. "Other International" Migration includes Net Non-Permanent Residents (NPR), International Emigrants, Canadians Temporarily Abroad, and Returning Canadians
4. Immigration rates are calculated by the PEI Statistics Bureau based on Statistics Canada population estimates.

Source: Statistics Canada

Table 17-10-0009-01, Estimates of population, Canada, provinces and territories, quarterly

Table 17-10-0040-01, International migration components, Canada, provinces and territories, quarterly

Table 17-10-0020-01, Interprovincial migrants, Canada, provinces and territories, quarterly

Table 17-10-0045-01, Estimates of interprovincial migrants by province or territory of origin and destination, quarterly

Table 17-10-0059-01, Estimates of the components of natural increase, Canada, provinces and territories, quarterly

Table 17-10-0121-01, Estimates of the number of non-permanent residents by type, quarterly

Prepared by PEI Statistics Bureau