OTTAWA — One in five immigrants who come to Canada ultimately leave the country within 25 years, with about one-third of those people moving on within the first five years.
The findings come from a report by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada, which looked at the issue of onward migration for the second time.
The report is based on data collected up to the end of 2020. It finds that over the previous 30 years, the rate of immigrants leaving Canada had been on an upward trajectory.
"The number of immigrants leaving Canada reached an all-time high in 2020. Despite extreme pandemic travel restrictions, immigrants found ways to leave the country in record numbers and despite multiple opportunities to return, they chose not to," said Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.
To come up with the data, the study combined information on immigration rates from Statistics Canada with tax filing information. They consider someone an onward migrant if there was no T-1 family file for two years, and then never again up until 2021.
The report found that economic immigrants are the most likely to leave Canada and refugees are the least likely to leave. Some of those who left returned to their country of origin, while others moved on to a new third country.
"The most sobering implication is the two categories of immigrants Canada prioritizes most — those are economic immigrants and francophones — those are actually the least likely to make Canada their forever home," Bernhard said.
Nearly half of onward migrants since 1982 were economic immigrants: people who applied for permanent residency and it was granted based on their possession of skills that are valued in the labour market.
The Institute for Canadian Citizenship is calling on the federal government to develop strategies on how to better retain immigrants, especially in the first five years.
"If you remain optimistic about the prospects of that investment, you're very likely to continue contributing your talent and energy to Canada's success. So this is an all-of-Canada effort," Bernhard said.
"Immigrants are increasingly disappearing from the country, but sadly, our shortages in housing, in the housing workforce, in early childhood education and in health care, those needs are not disappearing."
The report focuses on hard numbers, but based on public opinion research the institute has conducted, Bernhard said affordability played a factor in people's decisions to leave.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that it requires work across all levels of government to retain immigrants, which includes making sure they have good jobs and affordable places to live.
Miller said that they do need to track the number of immigrants who are leaving, but ultimately they cannot limit people's freedom of movement to leave Canada once they become a citizen or permanent resident.
"We tend to attract people that have the skills, capacity and the ability to move. It's something that comes with a bit of a conundrum, but I think it's something that we continuously work to retain," Miller said.
Francophone immigrants are more likely to leave than their English peers, with the report finding a 35 per cent long-term onward migration rate.
The government's goal is to have 10 per cent of immigrants have French language skills.
The highest proportion of people leaving the country had settled in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — while smaller cities like Calgary, Halifax and Moncton saw greater immigrant retention.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press