Canada’s Struggle to Retain Skilled Immigrants Amid Emigration Trends

(CANADA) Canada is still bringing in large numbers of newcomers, but an unusual and worrying trend now sits beside that success: more skilled immigrants are leaving soon after they arrive.

In the first half of 2025, the country admitted 207,650 newcomers, down from 255,950 during the same period in 2024 and 263,425 in 2023. Even with that dip, Canada is on track to welcome about 415,000 permanent residents by year-end, slightly above the official target of 395,000.

Yet the headline number hides a deeper problem. Between 2022 and 2025, more than 2.17 million people voluntarily left the country, and 851,000 departed in 2024 alone.

Who leaves and who stays

The departures are not spread evenly across immigrant groups.

• Refugees and family-sponsored immigrants tend to stay long term, with only about 8.6% leaving over 25 years.
• Economic immigrants—engineers, nurses, tech professionals, and tradespeople—show much higher exit rates: nearly 48.1% leave within the first seven years.

This outflow undercuts Canada’s goals in sectors that rely on long-trained talent—health care, construction, advanced manufacturing—and reduces long-term gains from immigration by shrinking the tax base and community ties that develop over time.

Policy shifts, targets, and the 2025–2027 plan

Officials and community groups point to a mix of policy shifts, rising costs, and stalled careers as drivers of emigration.

Key elements of the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan (released October 2024):

• Lower targets across permanent and temporary streams.
• A cut of about 10% in international student admissions.
• Tighter rules around work permits.
• Aiming to ease pressure on housing, health services, and transit while improving settlement outcomes.

Economic immigration remains the main pillar—58.8% of permanent immigration in 2025, rising to 61.7% by 2027—with a clear push to help those already in Canada move to permanent status.

The plan also prioritizes:

• Temporary residents with Canadian experience (graduates on work permits, employer-backed workers).
• Increased Francophone immigration outside Quebec: 8.5% in 2025, 10% by 2027.

These moves are intended to improve retention by favoring people already rooted in local life, but they do not remove major barriers—especially housing and credential recognition—that push newcomers to leave.

Housing: the top pain point

Housing is the most cited obstacle for newcomers:

• National affordability ratios sit near 9:1 (home price ≈ nine times average household income).
• Rents for a one-bedroom apartment average more than $2,000/month in Toronto and Vancouver.
• Newcomers with limited credit history, no local guarantor, or short job tenure face extra hurdles and often end up in temporary rentals far from jobs and schools.

As savings shrink, the prospect of planting roots becomes harder, increasing the lure of moving to other countries with lower living costs or faster career progression.

Employment and credential recognition

Employment is the second major barrier:

• Nearly 40% of skilled workers face licensing or foreign-degree recognition issues.
• Employers often require “Canadian experience”, even for roles that do not legally need it.
• Highly trained newcomers frequently take survival jobs while awaiting assessments, bridging programs, or supervised practice.

For regulated professions—engineers, nurses, health professionals—credential recognition can take months or years, hurting morale and income and slowing the path to permanent status.

Government strategy and coordination

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has set a three-year plan emphasizing a more balanced system. Main goals:

• Improve integration services.
• Manage the volume of temporary residents.
• Steer selection toward sectors with urgent needs (health, trades, construction).
• Work closely with provinces, territories, employers, and settlement providers.

Officials say this is about sustainable growth—protecting economic gains while easing pressure on public services. But achieving balance is hard in real time, and families weigh daily costs and prospects when deciding to stay.

For official updates and program information, newcomers and employers can consult the IRCC site at the Government of Canada: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Impact on employers and labour supply

The emigration trend raises pressing questions for employers:

• Lower intake targets and tighter student/work rules mean fewer new international hires.
• Companies must shift from relying on steady inflows to retaining current workers:
  • Support credential recognition.
  • Pay for upskilling.
  • Offer clearer career paths.

For international students, a smoother transition from campus to full-time work is essential; otherwise they may accept offers abroad with faster licensing or better starting pay.

Evidence that retention works

There are signs of what helps:

• A Statistics Canada study found that immigrants who become Canadian citizens tend to stay.
  • About 93% still file taxes in Canada ten years after landing—an indicator of economic and community engagement.
• Long-term retention has improved for more recent cohorts compared to earlier ones.

When people feel settled—for example, through citizenship, voting, and stability for their children—they are less likely to leave.

“When people see a ladder, they stay and climb it. When the ladder is missing, they look for one elsewhere.”

The human cost: everyday examples

Real-life scenarios illustrate the gap between policy and daily life:

• A skilled nurse arrives with ICU experience, works as a care aide for lower pay, faces scarce licensing exam dates and costly prep, and struggles with high rent and long commutes.
• A software developer accepts contract gigs while paying high rent and proving themselves for months.
• A tradesperson waits for certification, working lower-paid helper roles and covering exam fees.

Each delay and financial strain tilts the decision toward leaving.

What provinces, regulators, employers can do

Provinces and territories, licensing bodies, employers and municipalities each hold key levers:

• Licensing reforms:
  • Faster assessments that judge actual skills, more exam sittings, expanded bridging programs, paid clinical placements.
• Employers:
  • Training allowances, mentoring, paid study time, sponsoring exam fees, supervised practice.
  • Pilot housing subsidies, interest-free moving loans, co-sign leases, guaranteed interviews for program graduates.
• Municipalities and colleges:
  • Speed up permitting, expand apprenticeship seats, fast-track rental builds near job hubs.

These actions require upfront investment but yield retention and productivity gains. Each skilled worker who stays saves recruitment costs and builds local experience.

Three pillars of better retention

Stakeholders identify three main pillars for retention:

1. Speed up credential recognition:
   • More exam sittings, supervised practice, fair skills-based assessments.
2. Improve the first-year bridge:
   • Short-term housing help, mentorship, paid internships linked to hiring.
3. Stabilize intake while expanding capacity:
   • Build more homes and train more local workers (especially in construction and health care).

When all three work together, newcomers see a coherent path to settle. If one pillar is missing, the balance shifts toward leaving.

Practical advice for newcomers and employers

For newcomers—practical steps to improve chances of staying:

• Check licensing rules before choosing a province or city.
• Ask employers about supervised practice and exam supports.
• Budget realistically for the first year (rent, transit).
• Seek settlement help early—language classes, job search tools, referral to licensing bodies.
• Choose neighbourhoods near work and schools when possible.
• Connect with professional associations for mentorship and study groups.

For employers—action checklist:

• Map skill needs two to three years ahead.
• Partner with colleges and settlement agencies to build pipelines.
• Offer paid internships or co-op roles leading to full-time jobs.
• Cover exam fees or provide paid study time.
• Set up buddy systems and mentoring programs.
• Explore housing partnerships for key worksites.
• Publish salary ranges and clear promotion tracks.

Retention is not a slogan; it is a set of choices that make staying more attractive than leaving during the first hard months.

Closing assessment: ambition vs capacity

Canada’s immigration record remains one of welcome and renewal. But the recent rise in emigration among economic immigrants shows a mismatch between ambition and capacity.

• The federal plan aims for 380,000 permanent residents in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027, reducing intake gradually while increasing the share of economic immigrants and Francophone arrivals outside Quebec.
• The government intends to work with provinces, territories, employers, and service providers to deliver housing and better services.

The stakes are high: every trained worker who stays strengthens local schools, shops, and teams. Every departure removes a worker’s future contributions and is costly to replace.

When provinces publish service standards and wait-time dashboards, colleges expand bridging seats, cities fast-track rental builds near job hubs, employers commit to training and fair wages, and settlement agencies offer targeted mid-career help—then promises made at the airport can match everyday life. When trust builds, newcomers root themselves and plan for the long term. When the system fails to coordinate, more families will take their skills elsewhere, and Canada will feel the loss for years to come.