Cost of living has immigrants considering leaving Canada: poll
Posted July 3, 2024 7:04 am.
Last Updated July 3, 2024 7:16 pm.
Coming to Canada for a better life doesn’t appear to be the reality for many new Canadians.
A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute released Wednesday shows immigrants are thinking about leaving, with the lack of affordable housing cited as the top reason.
“Consider that while three-in-10 Canadians (28 per cent) say they’re giving serious consideration to leaving their province of residence due to housing affordability, this number rises to 39 per cent for those who have lived in the country for less than a decade,” the poll found.
The survey considers a “new immigrant” as someone who has lived in the country for 10 years or less.
It adds the housing struggles are underscored in the country’s two hottest housing markets — Vancouver and Toronto.
“The long-term risk would be one of losing the workforce required to keep the city cores humming. In Downtown Toronto, 44 per cent say they consider leaving, with 22 per cent saying this is a strong current consideration. Similar numbers also say this in the surrounding 905 area code. In Metro Vancouver, one-in-three (33 per cent) aren’t sure if that region is a long-term home,” said Angus Reid.
Some Canadians polled expressed concerns that while the real estate market has cooled slightly recently because of high interest rates, as those come down, things will heat up again.
“Though the countrywide ramp up of housing prices has slowed, rent has continued to rise across the country, with some provinces seeing year-over-year average rent increases of more than 17 per cent,” the poll shared.
The housing issue doesn’t just affect homeowners.
“Renters across the country are feeling the pinch of rising rent across the country. Approaching two in five (38 per cent) say they are seriously thinking of leaving their province because of housing costs. Homeowners are less likely to be contemplating leaving, but more than one-quarter (28 per cent) of those still paying off their mortgage are considering finding cheaper housing elsewhere.”
In addition to housing, there are other reasons people want to leave. Some say they want to find a better quality of life, the overall cost of living is simply too high, improved access to healthcare, and avoiding extreme weather.
And for those leaving, many say they’d go to another province or leave the country completely.
“The oldest Canadians are most likely to say they would move to Alberta, while young and middle-aged alike cast their gaze beyond the borders of Canada and the United States. One-in-five younger than 35 years of age would travel south of the border and set up in the United States if housing costs continue to persist,” the poll explained.
“Canadians who have immigrated to this country and have been here 11 plus years are less likely (38 per cent) than those who have more recently arrived (50 per cent) or those born in Canada (47 per cent) to say they would move somewhere else within Canada’s borders. Instead, immigrants who have been here for more than a decade are more likely to say they would go ‘somewhere else abroad’ (36 per cent).”
Interprovincial migration stands out in B.C., according to Angus Reid, and that sentiment is backed up by Statistics Canada. The federal agency said in 2023 tens of thousands of British Columbians moved with the majority going to Alberta.
“It is worth focusing in on British Columbia and Ontario. B.C. residents’ recent migration to Alberta is supported in these data, with the largest portion of those who consider leaving saying that they would shift one province east. A significant group say they would look outside of North America if they did decided to make a change (27 per cent), while the United States is the top destination for 12 per cent,” said Angus Reid.
“The trend of younger generations feeling least settled in their communities continues. Eighteen to 34-year-olds are more than twice as likely as those 55 plus to say they are strongly considering leaving (23 per cent to 10 per cent). That said, at least two in five of those in the more family-building age group of 35 to 54 say they give this some consideration.”
The Angus Reid poll was done between June 14 – 20 with just over 4,200 adults surveyed.
