One in five immigrants leaves Canada within 25 years, with highly educated more likely to depart

Statistics Canada found that about 5.1% of immigrants leave Canada within five years, rising to 10.5% after 10 years and 17.5% after 20 years. Over a 25-year period, the share rises to slightly more than one in five.

The likelihood of leaving is particularly pronounced among immigrants with higher levels of education. Statistics Canada found that 10.4% of immigrants with doctorates had emigrated within five years, compared with 5.5% of those with bachelor's degrees. After 20 years, the rates were 32.5% and 21.1%, respectively.

Global News reported that immigrants with doctorates are nearly twice as likely to leave Canada within five years as those with bachelor's degrees, citing a report by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada.

The departure trend is also strongest during the early years after arrival. Statistics Canada said the annual probability of emigration peaks between the third and seventh years, reaching nearly 1.4% in the fourth and fifth years.

The data also points to a connection between family circumstances and retention. Immigrants who had no children in their tax family were substantially more likely to leave than those who had children.

Five years after admission, 16.4% of immigrants with no child recorded in their tax data had emigrated, compared with 2.2% of those with children.

The findings come as Canada continues to rely heavily on immigration to address labour-market and demographic pressures.

Statistics Canada estimates that immigrants accounted for 23% of Canada's population in the 2021 Census, or more than 8.3 million people.

Recent Statistics Canada research has also highlighted challenges in making full use of immigrant qualifications. Among recent immigrants with postsecondary education, 23.7% were working in jobs requiring a high school education or less in 2022-23, although this represented an improvement from 40.1% a decade earlier.