 The population of Canada increased every year since Confederation in 1867.The first national census of the country was taken in 1871, and it covered the four provinces part of Canada at the time.It recorded a population of 1,620,851 in Ontario, 1,191,516 in Quebec, 387,800 in Nova Scotia and 285,594 in New Brunswick  The population of each of these provinces continued to grow every year uninterrupted.