How Many Americans Live in Canada
Canada answers this question better than any country we reviewed. It just gives more than one answer, depending on whether you count by citizenship or by birthplace.
Canada's own records count 133,430 residents holding US citizenship (Census 2021) and 256,000 US-born residents (Census 2021). These are different measures of different populations, and they are not added together. Counting everyone who reported US citizenship, including dual citizens, the record shows 461,775 responses.
The American Emigration Revue counts US citizensPeople holding United States citizenship, as counted by Canada's own official records. A separate population from US-born residents; the two are never added. Definitions ›, US-born residentsPeople born in the United States living in Canada, whatever citizenship they hold today. A separate population from US citizens; the two are never added. Definitions ›, naturalizations and long-term permits from official government sources, with every figure cited. This page sets out what Canada publishes, what it does not, and how far the published record can be trusted.
Why Canada's Records, Not Washington's
The ContextThe context every page needs: who counts Americans abroad, and who doesn't.
The United States publishes no count of its own citizens abroad. Its best federal figure, 3.3 million Americans worldwide, is a statistical model built to size the overseas electorate, and the same model said 4.4 million two years earlier. The Census Bureau decided in 1976 to exclude private Americans abroad from the decennial enumeration (overseas federal employees and military are still counted). What Washington publishes instead is fragments: Social Security checks mailed to foreign addresses, tax returns claiming foreign income, quarterly lists of people who gave up their citizenship. See what each federal source actually counts ›
So this project counts from the receiving side. Every figure on this page comes from records Canada itself publishes, read under the same rules applied to every country in the project. Where Canada publishes, it is counted and cited. Where it does not, the gap is shown rather than filled: no estimates, no models. How openly each country reports ›
How Canada Counts Americans
The Six CountsOne "US presence," six official populations. None of them contradicts another; they answer different questions.
What the Research Found
The FindingsFindings from the Canada research, drawn from the official record.
- Canada has the strongest U.S.-national data coverage of any country reviewed in the initial research.
- IRCC permanent resident admissions data shows 103,200 U.S. citizen PR admissions from 2015 to 2025, peaking at 11,955 in 2021 and declining to 7,520 in 2025.
- U.S. citizen temporary workers declined from 61,700 in 2010 to 38,900 in 2023, with the U.S. share of total temporary foreign workers falling from 17% to 4% over the same period. The International Mobility Program (CUSMA and other agreements) accounted for approximately half of entries throughout the period.
- Study permit data shows 8,495 U.S. citizen permit holders in 2025, with 835 in the first two months of 2026.
The Record Over Time
The TrendYear-by-year totals across every available indicator — gaps reflect genuine data absence, not zero.
The Figures as Data
The EvidenceMachine-readable copy of the figures on this page, each with the year its source published it. Free to download and reuse with attribution.
| Figure | Value | Vintage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| US citizens | 133,430 | Census 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| US-born residents | 256,000 | Census 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| US-citizen arrivals (2024) | 9,330 | 2024 | — |
| US-citizen arrivals (2025) | 7,520 | 2025 | — |
| Naturalizations of US citizens | 9,500 | US-born · 2025 | — |
| Long-term residence permits | 38,900 | 2023 | — |
| All US-citizenship responses, incl. dual citizens · Census 2021 | 461,775 | Census 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Canadian citizens by descent, born in the US · Census 2021 | 90,490 | Census 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| US-born non-permanent residents · Census 2021 | 26,805 | Census 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| US-born with a valid permit or open claim · IRCC admin file, 2021 | 61,385 | 2021 | IRCC |
Vintage is the year the publishing authority reported the figure. A dash means the year or publisher is not yet recorded in our dataset for that figure; the Sources and Datasets section below names every publisher behind this page. The free CSV covers the years shown to readers without an account.
The National Lens
Country-Specific DataSupplementary data obtained or derived specifically for this country — indicators not in the global framework.
Of 461,775 US citizens counted in Canada, 71% hold another citizenship as well. The "American population of Canada" is mostly a dual-citizen population — exactly the descent-and-naturalization dynamic this project tracks.
How Far to Trust These Figures
The Publishing RecordWhat Canada publishes, how often it publishes, and the sources behind every number on this page.
The bars are yearly series, where trends can be read. The dots are single counts, which show a moment in time; the next one arrives with the 2026 census.
This page leads with the two figures least affected by dual citizenship. The four broader readings are set out in How Canada Counts Americans above. Each answers its own question, and every one is cited to its publisher.
Every figure on this page comes from one of the publishers below. Links go to the authority and, where stable, straight to the dataset.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick AnswersEvery answer is drawn from the official record, from the same sources cited across this page.
How many Americans live in Canada?
Why are there several different numbers for Americans in Canada?
How many Americans move to Canada each year?
How many Americans become citizens of Canada?
Does Canada recognize dual citizenship with the United States?
Where do the figures for Americans in Canada come from?
News stories our newsroom has published about this country.
The full series, every year, every country
The public view shows a limited year window for each series. Researchers and journalists can request access to the complete annual record for every country in the project.