Report finds 1 in 5 newcomers leave Canada within 25 years, calls for retention plan

A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

OTTAWA — One in five immigrants who come to Canada ultimately leave for another 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 2020 figures.

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 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.

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 report calls on the government to develop retention plans to encourage more people to stay in Canada within the first five years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.