Report finds one in five immigrants leaves Canada within 25 years

OTTAWA — A new report says one in five newcomers to Canada leaves the country within 25 years of their arrival — and most of those who leave exit within their first five years here.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s annual “Leaky Bucket” report says people with doctorates and other highly skilled individuals are far more likely to leave than those with lower skill or education levels.

Fields with the highest levels of out-migration include business and finance management, information technology and engineering.

Based on these trends, the report forecasts that just more than 20,000 of the 380,000 permanent residents expected to be admitted to Canada next year will leave by 2031.

The institute is calling on the government to develop a talent retention strategy to encourage highly skilled immigrants to stay long-term.

The report is based on analysis of immigrants’ tax data and concludes a newcomer has left Canada if they did not file tax for two consecutive years and do not appear in 2022 tax data.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2025.