BC records net loss of more than 8,600 in interprovincial migration in 2023

British Columbia had more people moving out to other provinces in 2023 than those coming in the opposite direction for the first time in more than a decade, according to figures from Statistics Canada.

The agency says B.C. recorded a net loss of 8,624 people in interprovincial migration last year, something that hasn't happened since 2012.

Statistics show almost 68,000 people moved from B.C. to other areas in Canada, while close to 60,000 people came to the province from elsewhere in Canada.

Statistics Canada says most of B.C.'s population loss was to Alberta, which figures show had the largest interprovincial population gain last year, with more than 55,000 people moving in versus moving out.

The agency says Alberta's population gain is the largest nationally since it began tracking comparable data in 1972.

The report from StatCan says Alberta has been recording gains in population from interprovincial migration since 2022, a reverse of the trend seen from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada.

Nationally, Ontario saw the biggest net loss in interprovincial migration last year of more than 36,000 people, following another net loss of almost 39,000 people in 2022.

Statistics Canada says the only other times a province had lost more than 35,000 people to other domestic jurisdictions were 1977 and 1978 in Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2024.