Report: More people are leaving Canada than ever before

In 2024, more than 106,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents chose to leave the country. Meanwhile, Canada has started to lose more temporary residents than the country is welcoming – resulting in a net decrease of more than 60,000 temporary residents in the first quarter of 2025.

Statistics Canada data shows that many people are leaving Canada:

Why are so many people choosing to leave Canada? Many of the reasons can be tied to some big shifts in Canadian immigration policy and affordability.

Immigration policies are causing temporary residents to leave the country

For the first time in years, there are more temporary residents leaving Canada than coming to Canada. For years, Canada has been a world class destination for international students – welcoming hundreds of thousands from around the world. The country has also welcomed hundreds of thousands of temporary workers on work permits.

However, in 2024, Canada announced that it would be reducing the number of international students and foreign workers. The government put a cap on the number of study permits to be issued and reduced the targets for work permit programs.

Adding to this, Canada also announced plans to reduce the overall targets for permanent residents. This made it much more difficult for international students and temporary workers who wanted to stay in Canada long term.

These major policy shifts explain the change in temporary resident arrivals from 2024 to 2025. In the first three months of 2025, Canada experienced a net loss of more than 60,000 temporary residents – the largest number in more than a decade (excluding the COVID pandemic). Recent data from IRCC has shown that temporary resident arrivals have continued to plunge through 2025 – a trend likely to continue.

It’s worth noting that many of these numbers are estimates based on assumptions. A recent article in the Globe & Mail detailed how the Canadian government is unsure of the exact numbers of immigrants leaving the country.

Express Entry offers extra points for foreign work experience

It’s possible that some temporary residents are leaving Canada in order to get extra points for Express Entry which has become much more competitive in recent years, with CRS score cut-offs skyrocketing.

Express Entry candidates can get additional CRS score points* for foreign work experience in combination with other factors:

Canadian work experience and non-Canadian work experience

Non-Canadian Work Experience and Official Languages Ability

*A maximum of 50 CRS score points may be awarded for skills transferability factors relating to foreign work experience. You can estimate your CRS score using the Moving2Canada CRS Score Calculator.

With the Express Entry pool more competitive than ever before, the 50 points available for foreign work experience may account for some of the people leaving Canada.

High cost of living makes the Canadian dream a challenge – especially in major cities

In a recent poll from Abacus Data, Canadians revealed they are worried about rising costs, housing, and healthcare. Even more than the international threat posed by Donald Trump.

The issue is worse in Canada’s biggest cities, with Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal ranking among the top 10 least affordable cities to purchase a home in North America.

Newcomers and Canadians alike are feeling the pressure. Many leaving Canada are choosing other countries where they have more opportunity.

Future data will give a more accurate picture

With reduced immigration targets and mounting economic issues, it’s possible that the number of people leaving Canada will continue to increase in the months ahead. But with all these issues, it’s hard to know what will happen next. As Statistics Canada continues to release more data the trend will become clearer along with the impacts of a shrinking population.