A substantial influx of immigrants opting to depart from Canada in search of better opportunities.

As the federal government gets ready to announce its immigration objectives for the upcoming three years, recent research reveals a growing trend of immigrants in Canada seeking opportunities abroad.

A study carried out by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada highlights a notable increase in the number of immigrants departing from Canada in 2017 and 2019. These spikes indicate a 31 percent rise compared to the historical average.

However, even when we exclude those two years, the study reveals a consistent rise in onward migration. This process involves individuals moving from the country they initially immigrated to and establishing new roots in another location. For those who arrived in the 1980s, the average cumulative onward migration rate stood at 18 percent. This figure increased to 21 percent among individuals who were granted permanent residence in the first half of the 1990s.

“Canada’s future prosperity depends on immigration,” the study reads, citing past research by the Conference Board of Canada that has shown immigration leads to GDP growth, improves the worker-to-retiree ratio and eases labour shortages that add to inflation. Welcoming newcomers also helps fulfill Canada’s humanitarian goals.

“The benefits of immigration are realized over the time that immigrants spend in Canada—the longer they stay, the more they benefit and contribute. Immigrants who thrive are more likely to stay.”

The study found immigrants to Canada are most likely to migrate again four to seven years after arriving here, suggesting that positive early experiences may be key to enticing immigrants to stay here.For these reasons, the authors urged the federal government to make retaining newcomers a top priority.

“For Canada to meet its immigration goals, the country must not only attract newcomers but also retain them. Yet few attempts have been made to evaluate Canada’s immigrant retention rate,” the study reads.

“Retention should be a key performance indicator for Canada’s immigration strategy, given the central role that immigration is meant to play in supporting population and economic growth.

Canada’s population exceeded 40 million this year, with an increase of over one million in 2022. A report by Statistics Canada, released in late September, revealed that 98 percent of this growth can be attributed to net international migration.

In light of this remarkable population growth, along with what many experts have characterized as a housing crisis, the federal government is faced with the challenge of assessing the sustainability of its current immigration targets.

In the previous year, Ottawa announced its intention to welcome 500,000 permanent residents each year by 2025. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller is set to unveil whether Canada intends to uphold this target as he presents the federal government’s revised immigration levels plan on Wednesday.

This discovery marks a significant change from the previous year when public endorsement for immigration levels reached an unprecedented peak.