Canadians Leaving the Country in Record Numbers, With Nearly Half of Departures From Ontario

Travellers navigate a terminal of Pearson International Airport in Toronto on March 10, 2023. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

Emigration rates soared to unprecedented levels in Canada last year driven by the ongoing housing shortage and the  cost of living crisis, a new report suggests. One province in particular accounted for nearly half of these departures.

More than 81,601 residents left the country in 2024 and 39,430 of them were from Ontario, a report from rental platform liv.rent found. Ontario is the most densely populated province in the nation, but its 48 percent share of departures is notably greater than its 39 percent share of the total population of Canada.

Last year marked the highest level of emigration both Canada and Ontario have seen in several years. Emigration in Canada overall last reached that level in 2017, and in Ontario, the current levels haven’t been seen since 2011, according to the report, which is based on data from Statistics Canada.

Ontario also saw a 66.5 percent spike in non-permanent resident departures in 2024 compared to 2023, and recorded the highest departure volume of non-permanent residents in Canada, the report said.

British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec were the next largest sources of emigration, with 18 percent leaving B.C. and 13 percent leaving the others, but none approached the level of Ontario’s migration, the report said.

Canada also experienced a major downturn in the net flow of non-permanent residents, indicating a reduction in the number of temporary workers and international students. The net flow of non-permanent residents fell last year to 319,506, a 50 percent decline from the 2023 net total of 636,427, the report found.

Every province experienced an increase in the outflow of non-permanent residents, with New Brunswick seeing the largest year-over-year rise at 97 percent. This was followed by Nunavut at 78 percent, Ontario at 67 percent, Alberta at 66 percent, and Nova Scotia at 61 percent.

Interprovincial Movement

Interprovincial migration slowed in 2024, with year-over-year movement dropping by 8 percent compared to 2023.

Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan were the only provinces to experience an increase in incoming migrants at 14 percent, 2 percent, and 0.2 percent respectively.

Alberta remained the most sought-after destination for individuals moving within Canada, despite a slight decrease in its in-migration figures compared to 2023.

“Alberta was also the only province to achieve positive net interprovincial migration exceeding 30,000 people,” the report said.

Ontario experienced the largest net outflow of interprovincial migration in the country, reflecting that a greater number of people exited the province for different locations within Canada than those who arrived.

Impact on Rent

The slowdown in immigration and interprovincial migration, rising emigration, and a growing number of permanent residents leaving the country came at a benefit to renters, the report said.

Rental prices are no longer rising at the same rate as they did in recent years, the report found, including in the country’s most expensive rental markets of B.C. and Ontario.

Ontario’s average monthly rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment is $1,939, indicating a year-over-year rise of 0.99 percent. The average monthly rent for a similar unit in B.C. is $2,273, up 0.79 percent during the same time period. The modest rise in both provinces in 2024 was in stark contrast to the 13 percent increase that occurred in 2023.

Two Canadian cities are defying the national trend, however. Rent prices are on the rise in both Montreal and Edmonton.

The average rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Montreal has increased nearly 2.6 percent year-over-year to reach $1,659.

The story is similar in Alberta’s capital city. Overall, the average monthly rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Alberta has risen nearly 8 percent since the same period last year, to $1,496.

“Edmonton’s rental market defies the odds, with prices climbing across all unit types year-over-year,” the report said.