Newcomers to Canada turned off by increased cost of living

BY PAUL JUNOR

Canada has long been touted as one of the most desirable countries for new immigrants. For many years, there have been waves of immigration from: Africa, the Caribbean, India and Europe. However, a recent article published in Reuters on Saturday, December 9^th, 2023, by Wa Lone revealed that there has been an increasing reverse immigration trend. This pattern shows that there has been a steady uphill trend in the number of recent immigrants who have turned their back on Canada.

The article mentioned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been promoting immigration to Canada as a solution to its aging and decreasing population growth. In 2023, there was an influx of over one million newcomers to Canada. Nonetheless, according to data revealed by Statistics Canada, there has been a significant decrease in Canada’s population, which is the largest in more than six decades. The article notes that, in the first six months of 2023, some 42,000 individuals left Canada, compared to 93,818 in 2022, and 85,927 in 2021.

The Institute for Canada Citizenship (ICC), an advocacy group that promotes immigration to Canada mentioned that the rate of immigrants bidding farewell to Canada rose. Statistics Canada released data that showed that while the numbers decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic it is going up again. It is only a fraction of the 263,000 people who entered Canada for the comparative period, there has been an increasing trend in the rate of emigration.

Prime Minister Trudeau constantly highlighted the increase in the number of immigrants to Canada which has been one of his most significant accomplishments which he brags about constantly. There has been a record of 2.5 million new immigrants to Canada over the past eight years with over one million making Canada their homeland in 2022. The rate of emigration from Canada reached a maximum level of 0.2% of the overall population of Canada in the mid-1990s and it is currently 0.09% based on official data from the Canadian Government.

Daniel Bernhard, CEO of ICC states, “There’s a real importance in creating positive experiences in these early years to ensure that these newcomers do not give up on the Canadian dream. However, for many who decided to abandon Canada, it is the phenomenal increase in housing expenses that is the primary factor that contributes to this decision.” The article in Reuters states that on average in Canada about 60% of household income would be needed to cover ownership costs, a figure that rises to about 98% for Vancouver and 80% for Toronto, based on a September report by Royal Bank of Canada.

Phil Triadafilopoulos, a political science professor specializing in immigration at the University of Toronto told Reuters that it is the housing shortage in Canada that is influencing decisions to leave Canada. He states, “It’s not surprising then that people who have options to either go to another country or go back home.”

The Reuter’s article describes the experiences of two recent immigrants to Canada and their reasons for considering leaving it. Cara, who came from Hong Kong in 2022 as a refugee, pays about 30% of her take-home pay for a single-room apartment in Scarborough while working three part-time jobs. They pay $16.55 per hour which is Ontario’s minimum wage and barely provides her with enough funds to cover her rent of $650 per month and basic necessities.

She states, “I almost use every single penny.” She feels trapped in a state of economic insecurity and financial challenges. She comments, “Whenever I get the chance to leave, I will take the chance.”

Justin Slankus, a graduate student who came to Canada in 2019 from Lithuania and is presently completing a doctorate program at the University of Toronto struggles to pay $2,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment as a graduate student. He has given serious thought to moving to Southeast Asia to continue his research because he can barely survive financially. He states, “With a graduate student’s budget, it is not sustainable.”