Eleven of the thirteen provinces, excluding the territories, reported double-digit year-over-year increases in the number of residents leaving the country.
More Canadians packed up to exit the country a year back during ’25. This was more than at any point in over a decade. A single province was noted to be driving the bulk of departures.
Guided by liv.rent’s ’26 Canada Rental Market Trend Report, which draws on data from Statistics Canada, 95,733 Canadians emigrated during the first 3 quarters of ’25. That’s a 17% rise from the previous year of ’24, besides being the highest level during the past 15 years since ’11. The rise was widespread too: 11 of 13 provinces as well as territories posted double-digit year-over-year increases in residents leaving the country.
Ontario led the exodus by a wide margin that accounted for 47% of all departures nationwide, which includes 44,758 people leaving the province. This marks a new record for Ontario emigration besides continuing a trend that has been developing for years.
Meanwhile, Quebec accounted for 13% of Canada’s total emigration last year in ’25. That’s with 12,691 people leaving the province. This is a 21% year-over-year increase, besides the highest emigration level Quebec has witnessed during the past 9 years since ’17. The jump was notable, given that Quebec’s immigration numbers held remarkably steady during the same period. It declined just a mere 0.4% year-over-year, while most other provinces witnessed double-digit declines.
In other words, Quebec seems to be attracting people while losing them at the same time. The trend is with the outward acceleration picking up speed through the 2nd half of the year.
British Columbia (BC) also posted a striking number. This is with emigration surging 32% year-over-year to 19,628 people. In more than a decade, this figure recorded the largest year-over-year increase from the province. It accounted for 21% of all Canadian departures.
Why do people leave?
This report doesn’t pin emigration to a single cause. However, the broader context may not be challenging to read.
Cost of living pressures; tighter federal policies affecting temporary residents as well as international students; and a general cooling of the economic conditions that drew people to Canada during the post-pandemic years all appear to be factors.
