Canada's population has topped the 37-million mark, but Newfoundland and Labrador wasn't any help, according to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Thursday.

The province was the only one where the population dropped in the first three months of 2018 — by 0.3 per cent to just under 526,000.

Other provinces grew, with Ontario and Alberta in the lead.

Immigration is driving the population growth in Canada, with 88,120 newcomers in the first three months of this year. (Gary Locke/CBC)

Across the country, the federal agency says international migration is driving the growth, with the overall population increasing by 103,157.

Between Jan. 1 and April 1 more than 88,000 people immigrated to Canada, more than ever before in the first quarter of a year.