New Immigrants Fleeing Trudeau’s Canada Over High Living Costs

Due to the high cost of living and rental shortages, many immigrants’ ambition of making it big in Canada is turning into a battle for survival, as soaring emigration rates hint at newcomers being forced to turn their back on a country that they chose to make their adoptive home.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made immigration his main weapon in combating Canada’s major challenge of an aging and slowing population, while also helping to fuel economic growth. According to Statistics Canada, this year saw Canada’s population grow at its fastest rate in more than six decades.

However, a reversal of that trend is already taking hold. According to official figures, 42,000 people left Canada in the first six months of 2023, adding to the 93,818 who left in 2022 and the 85,927 who went in 2021.

According to a recent analysis from the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), an immigration advocacy group, the rate of immigrants departing Canada reached a two-decade high in 2019. While the numbers fell during pandemic lockdowns, Statistics Canada records suggest that they are already rising again.

While this is a small proportion of the 263,000 who arrived in the country during the same time period, a consistent increase in emigration has some observers concerned.

A rising trend of people departing Canada threatens to undermine one of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s signature achievements, which gave permanent residency to a record 2.5 million people in just eight years.

Because of the high cost of living, Reuters spoke with a half-dozen people who have either left the country or are planning to leave.

Cara, 25, arrived in Canada as a refugee from Hong Kong in 2022 and now pays C$650 ($474) a month for a single-room basement apartment in Scarborough, east Toronto, which is roughly 30% of her monthly take-home pay.

“I never realized that living in a Western country, you can only afford renting a room in the basement,” she told me. She refused to reveal her full identity since she fled Hong Kong after taking part in the 2019 protests sparked by a now-defunct extradition bill.

Cara works three part-time jobs, earning the minimum wage in Ontario of C$16.55 per hour, and attends an adult learning school to acquire university credits.

“I almost use every single penny,” she said, adding that she was able to save nearly a third of her monthly wage in Hong Kong.

To be sure, emigration as a percentage of Canada’s total population peaked at 0.2% in the mid-1990s and is now about 0.09%, according to official government figures.

While the numbers are minor right now, attorneys and immigration advisers warn that a surge might cast a pall over Canada’s desirability as a top destination for newcomers.

“There’s a real importance in creating positive experiences in those early years” so that individuals opt to stay, according to ICC CEO Daniel Bernhard.

Immigrants cite skyrocketing housing costs as the primary reason for considering a new nation.

In Canada, roughly 60% of household income is required to pay property ownership costs on average, up to about 98% in Vancouver and 80% in Toronto, according to RBC in a September research.

Myo Maung, 55, immigrated to Canada from Myanmar more than three decades ago and has established a successful career as a real estate agent and restaurateur. However, he intends to retire in Thailand since he cannot see himself maintaining his quality of living in Canada on his retirement income.

Rapid immigration, according to Phil Triadafilopoulos, a political science professor specializing in immigration at the University of Toronto (UofT), is increasing the housing problem.

“It’s not surprising then that people who have options… either go to another country or go back home having had a taste of the situation in Canada,” he said.

To relieve pressure on the housing market, Trudeau’s government set a quota of 500,000 new immigrants per year beginning in 2025.

However, for some, it is too little, too late.

Justinas Stankus, 38, who moved to Canada from Lithuania in 2019 to pursue a doctorate in political science at the University of Toronto, is thinking about relocating to Southeast Asia, where the cost of living is lower and he can continue his study.

Stankus, who pays C$2,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment that includes utilities, says rising living costs have made it impossible to finance basic essentials.

“With a graduate student’s budget, it is not sustainable,” stated Stankus.

Cara from Hong Kong feels stuck and wishes to leave. “Whenever I get a chance to leave, I will take the chance.”