Canada’s population boom is blurring the trend that politicians need to watch – emigration. Emigration, the act of relocation from the country, marked an unusual jump in the first quarter of 2022. It was the largest Q1 for emigration in half a decade, according to Statistics Canada. The recent jump marks the end of the trend of slowing outflows, which began in 2017.
Canada has just marked the biggest Q1 emigration since 2017
Canada’s growing population growth is obscuring a problem – the brain drain. About 13,100 people said goodbye to Canada in the first quarter of 2022, up 42 percent from the same quarter last year. Q1 is usually a slow quarter, but it was the biggest first quarter since 2017 – a definite deviation.
In Canada, there has been a reverse trend of half a decade of declining outflows
Emigration from Canada has shown unusually high annual growth – the highest since 2004. Yes, it has a major effect, but the global recession usually produces them. Ultimately, recessions create new opportunities for those with skills and capital.
The most important conclusion is the reversal of the trend. The last quarter was not just a leap higher, but the only increase in half a decade. This is not a level of emigration “break the glass in case of emergency”, but to reject it would be a mistake. Canada’s population prospered before 2020 and managed to reduce emigration.
Nearly half of Canadians leaving the country are from Ontario
Almost all emigrants leave only three provinces. Ontario was the source of almost half of the outflows (47.1%) – the largest source of people leaving so far. It is followed by BC (20.4%) in the far second and Alberta (13.5%). Three provinces known for highly skilled labor and expensive real estate.
Like the data on inter-provincial migration yesterday, this does not mean that the population is shrinking. Canada’s population is actually growing at a staggering rate. However, the acceleration may be a sign that Canada’s attractiveness may decline.
Earlier this year, the Nomad Capitalist Passport Index lowered Canada’s rating for entrepreneurs. They do not attribute it to anything that Canada has done on its own. However, the rest of the world is doing much more to compete for talent, while Canada is based on a reputation that probably no longer reflects the environment.
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