Based on some recent stats, around 45,000 Canadians immigrate to the USA each year. This number absolutely dwarfs the 7,500 Americans migrating to Canada. The spike in immigrant influx is so high that it has already become a political issue in the USA.
So, why are Canadians leaving?
Canada attracts 500,000 new immigrants from the world every year; 20% of its population consists of immigrants who received their citizenship. Based on these numbers, one would assume that the country is fairly prosperous and can provide for its citizens.
And yet, between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, around 49,770 Canadians immigrated to another country. Most of these immigrants chose the USA as their destination. So, what’s motivating these people to look for moving company in Canada and leave country?
High Stream Moving is proud to offer professional local and long distance moving services in Toronto and all across Canada and the USA.
Canada has it all – great business opportunities, excellent educational institutions, a safe atmosphere, and a diverse cultural landscape. This seems to be more than enough for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants pouring into the country every year.
But what about those who want to leave?
While Canada is comparatively less costly of the two, this does not mean that things have been perfect. Quite the contrary – compared to last July, inflation has increased by a whopping 3.3% (in 2023). In 2022, the inflation rate hit a peak at 6.8%.
Basic necessities have become a matter of paycheck to paycheck for many, and even in those cases, people are barely making it. Between 1960 and 2022, the average year-to-year inflation rate was around 3.8%, but now, it has gone up to 4.0%.
This may not look like much, but rest assured, it is anything but a rounding error.
The cost of living is not just increasing, but it is doing so rapidly.
Compared to 1960, the overall cost of purchases has gone up by 886.36%! This also applies to rent and property costs. While things are far from desperate at the moment, if drastic economic reforms are not undertaken, young Canadians may not be able to look forward to a bright future.
In 2023, an average Canadian individual has to spend around $1,337.10 on their basic necessities, and when the cost of rent is added, this number swells to $3,445 at least. And that’s for someone who’s barely making it. If you’re a family of four, you might have to spend no less than $6,306 per month.
While the average salary in Canada is around $4,942 (among the 20 highest in the world), many Canadians are struggling just to get by. Most of them have already lost hope about getting a place of their own – as long as they can keep their jobs, they can go on living.
Coupled with rising costs of living, Canada has also had a very stinky luck with job stability and unemployment. Back in April, the country barely managed to keep its all-time low unemployment rate of 5% steady by pumping out 41,400 new jobs.
But it lost 17,000 jobs in May, further pushing the unemployment rate to a new record high of 5.2%. The job market is simply brutal and there’s little that the government can do. The pandemic bested the country's resources between 2019 and 2021, and this was followed by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Canada has long been seen as the epitome of multiculturalism, pluralism, and tolerance. This image has become harder and harder to maintain as the country becomes more and more polarized. Fueled by populism and nationalistic sentiments, the political wings of Canada have moved past the days of civil debate and innocent name-calling.
Today, politics in Canada is violent.
Hate crimes are on the rise – the idea of the “other” has alienated neighbor from neighbor.
Between 2019 and 2020 alone, the rate of crimes motivated by racial hatred, for instance, spiked by a massive 80%! That is not to say that the whole country has descended into anarchy. But the idea that one day, such violence would be a routine matter was unthinkable for many Canadians just a couple of decades back.
Some moderate commentators have also put forward an alternative explanation. Since the USA is less egalitarian than Canada (in terms of wealth distribution), more affluent Canadians prefer the states over their own country.
Here, they can strike a much better deal, pay lesser taxes, and spend a better life overall.
In Canada, lower-income groups tend to do well comparatively. For example, teachers are paid better in Canada than in the USA, and can thus have better amenities. Both countries seek well-educated migrants, and affluent Canadians are all too eager to rush to the USA.
However, from the USA, it is mostly the lower-income group that aspires to migrate to Canada.
This is more of a general trend rather than being true for every case, of course.
Things are further complicated in this regard because:
The result?
More Canadians choose an international moving to the USA than the people going the other way around!
There is another constant that the Canadians can never change: the weather. In Canada, it’s cold – the winters draw on forever and can be unforgiving. People from the warmer states of the USA would find it nearly impossible to settle permanently in Canada.
But the Canadians might actually love warmer temperatures for a change!
High Stream Moving is proud to offer professional local and long distance moving services in Toronto and all across Canada and the USA.
Planning to move to the USA and start a new life there? Or maybe you're just going temporarily for your studies and have concerns about how to choose a moving company in Toronto? In any case, you'll need a hand to pack, sort, move, and unpack your stuff (at the destination). Don't beg your busy friends for it – we, at the High Stream Moving can help you! Just call us at (800) 430-1537, and we'll make your relocation a breeze!