Ottawa's economic woes continue to drive Canadians south of the border, with a recent study revealing the reasons behind this mass exodus.
A study released this week from the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy shows that, since the end of the pandemic, Canadians heading to the United States for work has spiked.
The study's authors used innovative web-intercept technology to poll more than 4,000 Americans on exactly what their new Canadian neighbors say are the reasons they left Canada.
According to the report, the majority of Canadians leaving Canada cited greater job opportunities as a key reason for moving to the United States, followed by access and quality of Canada's troubled healthcare system, and taxes.
Combined, health care and tax reasons represent approximately 40% of relocations among relocator-aware respondents.
The study found that two-thirds of those leaving Canada are between the ages of 20 and 44, with 70% of those leaving holding university degrees.
Healthcare-related reasons for leaving Canada increase with the respondent's age, peaking among those 65 and over at 38%, compared to just 27% for those between 18 and 24.
The report highlights that health-care system performance is a broad structural driver of emigration, suggesting that Canadian policymakers cannot afford to treat it as a demographic edge case.
Canada's best and brightest are leaving the country in droves, with 19,300 Canadians permanently emigrating to the United States in 2022, a 65% increase from the previous year.
Separate numbers released this year by Statistics Canada show between 30,000 and 35,000 Canadians left Canada for other countries as of 2023.
The lack of comprehensive data on the reasons behind these relocations leaves significant gaps in determining why so many Canadians are making a run for the border.
