New immigrants leaving Canada in growing numbers, says study

Toronto, Nov 3 (IANS) Even as Canada plans to admit 500,000 new immigrants each year from 2025, a new study has revealed that more and more newcomers were leaving the country.

The joint study, titled 'The Leaky Bucket' by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) and the Conference Board of Canada, said the growing numbers of immigrants are leaving Canada because of housing affordability, poor job market and burdened healthcare system. .

As per the report data, the trend among newcomers to leave Canada increased suddenly in 2017 and 2019.

Most of them leave Canada after staying between years four and seven years in the country.

With new immigrants adding almost 1.3 percent to Canada’s population each year, Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship which commissioned the study, said: “After giving Canada a try, growing numbers of immigrants are saying ‘no thanks’, and are moving on. That’s not just a problem for immigrants. That’s a problem for everyone.

"As Canada relies more and more on immigrants to fill acute shortages in key sectors like housing and healthcare, our ability to retain them is becoming a matter of vital national interest.

“Simply put, if Canada cannot deliver for newcomers and help them become Canadian in their passports and in their hearts, we may soon be discussing our prosperity in the past tense.”

Stefan Fournier, Executive Director at The Conference Board of Canada which did the study, said: “Our research in this area shows that immigration leads to economic growth, improves the worker-to-retiree ratio and eases labour shortages that add to inflation. But as our research shows, attracting immigrants is only one part of the equation, we also need to retain them once they’re here in Canada.”

The study has recommended that federal, provincial and local governments put in place programmes that help new immigrants settle in Canada, invest in housing and healthcare and support employers to recruit, hire, and retain immigrant workers.