Canada’s temporary population boom may be over, but its long-term resident outflow is just beginning. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows emigration—the act of citizens or permanent residents permanently leaving—jumped higher in Q1 2025. Canadians left in the second-highest Q1 volume on record—a trend that’s only gained momentum since the pandemic.
Canadian Emigration: It’s Like Capital Flight But With Talent
Emigration is when a Canadian or permanent resident leaves the country permanently. Outflows happen, but persistent and rising outflows indicate growing discontent with local conditions—whether it’s economic, political, housing, or brain drain. Ultimately, it signals a country failing to offer opportunity or inspire long-term confidence. It’s not just any group leaving either—it’s primarily talented, prime-aged workers with the most opportunities.
Policymakers don’t pay much attention to the gross volumes, preferring net numbers. As long as they can make more Canadians than they lose, a worker is a worker. Replacing an experienced worker with a fresh graduate isn’t a straight trade—at least not immediately. It ignores the fact that Canadian talent is also some of the most coveted in the world. Training new talent while ignoring losses after they’re trained isn’t a benefit to Canada. It’s a competitive edge to the countries we’re losing these people to.
When policymakers start to frame talent as replaceable or frame those who leave as the problem, we’re cooked. They’re not focusing on long-term success, but on short-term optics and insider deals. In other words, the longer they ignore the outflow, the more talented labor should consider external opportunities—at least temporarily.
That said, let’s look at the data.
Canadians Permanently Left In The Second-Highest Volume Ever
Canadian emigration: The number of Canadian citizens and permanent residents that permanently left the country in the first quarter.
Source: Statistics Canada; Better Dwelling.
Canada’s population growth rate is stalling, but emigration retained its breakneck growth rate. The country estimates 27.1k Canadians emigrated in Q1 2025, a 3% increase from last year—which also saw 3% growth. Second only to 2017, it was the largest Q1 outflow ever recorded.
Emigration is a seasonal trend, and that can be bad news. The highest volume tends to occur in Q3, and if this trend persists we may have another record-setting year on our hands.
Canada Losing Long-Term Residents Is A Long-Term Trend
Historically, Canada is known for its population retention. From the 1950s through the 1990s, quarterly emigration has largely remained below 10k people. After 2000, emigration began climbing steadily—likely due to increased global opportunities. However, post-2021 we see clear and persistent growth that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Several quarters breach 15k emigrants, with 2025 kicking off one of the strongest trends on record.
Annual growth highlights how persistent this rising trend has become. The 12-month period ending in Q1 2025 saw 106.9k emigrants, up 3% from a year prior. Aside from a spike in 2017, this is the highest sustained outflow since the 1960s.
Canada’s focus on rapid population growth has proven to be destabilizing in many aspects—from housing to employment opportunities. Policymakers have pledged to throttle the growth and focus on domestic development, which is a good first step. But the damage is done, and outflows are accelerating—meaning policymakers need to prove their promises weren’t just election window dressing.
Capital flight is widely recognized as a serious issue—money leaving the country signals eroding confidence. But capital isn’t just financial; it also includes people, along with the social and economic value they create. Canada’s rising emigration is human capital flight—and that’s a far more serious problem.
For every canadian that leaves the country, 100 Indians come in the country.
At least that many. We will have to build more fast food restaurants to create more jobs.
The way I see the situation in Canada, where unemployment has reached its peak, the government is issuing visas to Indian students every day along with work permits. This is really sad. Please think about quantity and quality, not excessive and meaningless population. I really regret coming here.
Canada is in trouble, we all know this, thanks to surferboy/drama teacher. Carney better have a really sharp pencil, he will need it to poke the orange baboon back into his corner…..
Bang on!!!!!!!
The clown show appointed an immigration lobbyist. The cuts are just meant to lower the outflows since people will pause and hope they try to fix things—then they’ll reverse course, scale up immigration, and cut again just before the next election.
What most people don’t realize is only demographic that actually votes (Boomers and Gen X), actually benefit significantly from the increased immigration. Unlike non-G7 advanced economies that are shifting to younger representation, the old guard is going to take the whole system down with them.
What nonsense. It’s a couple of regions that are responsible for the re-election.
And remind me how Trudeau and his enablers got elected in the first place?
Here, I’ll help you with that
https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/trudeau-can-credit-election-victory-to-record-number-of-youth-voters-according-to-new-statistics
I am desperately making plans for my escape. I moved back to Canada after 30 yrs in the States. Even with the current insanity down there, I regret my return to “home of the SlumDog Millionaire”.
Maritimer votes were bought with free heat pumps. I have friends and relatives there and most voted Liberal because of the freebies. Add in Quebec and the election is over. Plus the Ndp got destroyed sending votes to the liberals. Canada is doomed unless they deport millions of east Indians and Africans back to their homelands. Plus others too as Canada is now a multi cultural cesspool
Bang on!!!!!!!
The question is who is leaving? Historically, 30% of immigrants leave Canada within Canada 10 years. People arrive to study, to work, to get Cdn. experience, they get Cdn. citizenship and leave better off than when they arrived but never intended to settle here. We need more information than just numbers to understand what is going on and its consequences.
We (born and raised in Vancouver) moved to Bellevue 10 years ago to raise our kids. We’re grateful for the move, it’s been good for the family. We literally doubled our income, tripled our living space and cut our housing costs in half. We still love Whistler though!
I am leaving as are my kids. We are high income business owners and employ people. I pay an inordinate amount of taxes and I will take all of our knowledge, jobs and future talent state side. Its a cesspool of Jeets and Have-not NDP’s every where I go. I can’t wait to leave.
Amen to your comments
Too many Latinos, Flips, Rags and other undesirables are killing our society. Smart move getting outta here.
Thanks, Boomer Doomer, for stating the obvious.. The Government buys votes by transferring wealth from New Immigrants, Young Canadians, and Renters… to Older Established Canadians.
Total bs. Immigrants get more money out of the Canadian born taxpayer like you wouldn’t believe. Welfare fraud, mortgage fraud and other devious habits are in the DNA of many of them. You must be a woke immigrant to say such things.
Bang on!!!!!!!
g Mutters is right. We have done nothing to protect Canada’s once strong sense of mutual support, respect, and tenacity. We admit people who land with the starting belief that they are owed something by the government for coming.
And what happened during the last 10 years? Was there a heavy handed authoritarian regime suppressing rights, freedoms and giving billions of dollars away to a conflict Canada has no business in? Where’s the money gone? Is there a company, that specializes in infrastructure that may have contracts in place to rebuild that war torn country? Is there a company, affiliated with the aforementioned company, that specializes in renewable energy, that owns several hydroelectric dams in Canada? The third, a company affiliated with both the above, invests in oil pipelines anywhere else but in Canada, opening our resources for global sale would lift Canada out of the hovel it’s become. THAT’S why people are leaving, with the current regime in place , failed green energy globally, yet want to ban gas powered vehicles and force EV ownership, one that is nowhere near close to having infrastructure ready letalone near bankrupting the auto industry massive layoffs, steel and aluminum layoffs, and consumers being or will be forced to buy EVs that they never wanted. Not to worry, Mark and Dougie have a plan, wind and solar is the plan, look what happened in Portugal and Spain, no one could charge their vehicles , an extended blackout caused massive losses of food gone rotten. Wonder why people are leaving Canada? Look no further than the Banker who was parachuted into a country that is ripe for the plucking.
Don’t forget about the huge wage subsidies walmart, Loblaws, Canadian tire and every fast food franchise gets for hiring these outsiders. No wonder young True Canadians cannot get jobs. The undesirables invading our borders are given preference over our own people as they provide cheap and almost free labour and are like indentured slaves. Canada is doomed.
Just buy real estate, young man.
The story should include information on where these emigrants are moving to
We should send all these recent arrivals back to where they came from. Get ICE up here hunting them down and deporting them. Stop ruining Canada and ruining the country I was born in and give real Canadians respect and help, stop destroying our culture or we will end up like that cesspool they call the UK is f we are not already there. I feel like I live in a third world country when I visit Costco or walmart. I have been to 52 countries and feel more at home in most of them than in my own country.
If you’ve been to 52 countries and not one of them are palatable, that’s a you problem.
Don’t get me wrong, I live in Canada because I like it and my family’s here. I’ve also had to work in a lot of countries and at least half of them I could easily live in, and probably have more upward mobility in my career. The world isn’t as scary as you think it is.
The basics of jobs homes and enough economic or social status from jobs and homes to have a girlfriend, are impossible for young Canadians like me. Thinking and planning to move just for the basics. Was born here. Probably going to South America where I can have the basic human needs met. Not sure this world makes sense to bring kids into economically. Certainly not Canada.
We (born and raised Canadians and both Charted Accountants/CPAs) moved to the US a decade ago. Honestly, the writing was on the wall in the last few Harper years. When the Cons blocked the BHP/Potash Corp deal in 2012, we knew it was time to leave. We tripled our household income, pay 1/3 of the taxes we paid in Canada and have a much lower cost of living. We were sad to leave our home, families and friends, but we had to go where the future was brighter. We made the move for our American-born children. Had we stayed in Canada, we would have stagnated professionally and no doubt struggled financially.
Me, myself, believes that the government is failing Canadian businesses and good elderly people of Canada. They need to immediately increase immigration by double, or triple, if we are to achieve the 100 million goal by 2100. Mo people, mo growth, mo prosperity – this is what we have voted for as a nation and this is what we should get. The government should also buy houses at 20% above the purchase price as it has historically supported the housing sector and give 100 billion dollars as rental subsidies to RIETs.
RIETs are the true caring social capitalists of our age. They are working so hard so many hours around the clock to provide good quality housing to the people of Canada. May they be blessed with more finance and prosperity. God speed to them.
Everything about this is totally insane. REITs manipulate market prices – they are notorious for it, and it’s basically entirely out in the open. You think the solution to the problem of high cost of living is INCREASING cost of living by 20%? Are you kidding? The Conservatives should never have stripped the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in the 90s and the government should be actively building houses and subsidizing distribution of timber and metals. No entity should ever be allowed to own more than maybe a handful of residential dwelling units EVER. Developers should be allowed to build and sell, not build and own.
Immigration helps develop economies, but not at all in the way the previous government was conducting it. We have basically brought in loads of people with the starting expectation not that they should work hard and contribute to society, but instead that society should take care of them. Certainly, most do come in and contribute in meaningful ways, but by God, the people terrorizing the streets and causing chaos in the ridiculous belief that God made them superior were let in with absolutely zero consideration for the protection of the country’s values and sense of mutual care.
Are you a troll, or do you really believe all the complete nonsense you spout here??
If that huge population what good has it done for either India or Pakistan? If it is so great why don’t you move there?
Capital and People Departures From Canada are Real
Live in the USA half of every year in your own home, farm or condo
Dump all you own in Canada
Stay with family or friends, travel etc. when not in the USA.
I want to leave. I would assume this is high % too.
No faith in government. Any party. As no party is saying they will bring in political accountability; nothing will meaningfully change even with another party unless there is political accountability. And as no party is proposing value-added economy; just export raw resources and import finished goods. And no party in a democracy, that is over ruled by overly entitled immigrants and overly entitled regional handouts, can reverse course.
I want to leave. I would assume this is high % too.
No faith in government. Any party. As no party is saying they will bring in political accountability; nothing will meaningfully change even with another party unless there is political accountability. And as no party is proposing value-added economy; just export raw resources and import finished goods. And no party in a democracy, that is over ruled by overly entitled immigrants and overly entitled regional handouts, can reverse course.
Wow. I hope most of the people responding to comments are either spam ai or Canadian’s in positions of no influence or power. Keep up the great reporting.
Trudeau screwed so much up, none of this is surprising to me at all. I’m one of those emigrants, and I ended up in Spain. Canada right now, post-Trudeau, is a mess. Cost of living is out of control. Property costs and rents are absolutely out of control. Salaries are stagnant or dropping. Somehow, the CAD recovered some value from the desperate place it was when Trudeau left. Nobody has any ability to do anything for themselves, to explore new talents or new ideas, to vacation, to spend time with loved ones, to really shine because every darned minute of the day is spent worrying about how you’re going to afford a place to live.
Very true.
Of course they’re leaving, the libthards want Canada to become India 2.0. They picked the worst country. Not Sweeden 2.0. Not Denmark 2.0. Not Norway 2.0. Not Poland 2.0. The country with the most scammers
Keep electing Liberal governments federally and Canada will be a third world country in no time.
We’re leaving too, as soon as my teens finish university here. The cost of living is insane here, and Canada no longer feels like home to me – it’s changed so much since I grew up here, and not in a good way.
With the insane home & real estate prices, and everything that goes with that, I don’t feel like my kids have any future here. How will they ever afford to live here on their own, find jobs, buy homes, have families?
The Canadian economy has been destroyed by debt and idiot policies, per capita GDP is dropping, and we have a demographic crisis because young people can’t afford to have kids anymore.
Many young people will just leave, and also people like me who are not afraid to move elsewhere for a better quality of life.
Where would you go? I have been to 52 countries and what I see today in almost all of them is problems worse than we have. USA is very expensive and getting moreso as tariffs are paid at the till by the consumer. UK is an advanced version of the Canadian millennium immigration project. Ireland has been invaded. Most countries in Europe are shunning people visiting, moving there and driving prices up. Mexico City is experiencing violent riots against inflation caused by people like you moving there. What seems like a haven today can be a nightmare as emigrees flood in. In Canada, Alberta where I moved 3 yrs ago is affordable but we are being inundated with East Indians and other minorities which are taking over fast. Even in Red deer and central Alberta. And it will get worse very fast. Just like it did where we moved from in the Fraser valley were 26% of my city were South Asian according to the government of Canada.