Canada News- A new report is raising concerns about Canada’s ability to retain the global talent it needs to strengthen its economy, particularly as the nation navigates economic challenges.
According to a report commissioned by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), highly educated and skilled immigrants are the most likely to leave Canada within five years of arriving.
Key Findings of “The Leaky Bucket 2025”
The report, titled “The Leaky Bucket 2025,” found that one-in-five immigrants leave Canada within 25 years of becoming permanent residents. This trend, known as “onward migration,” peaks at the five-year mark.
- The most alarming data reveals the disproportionate exodus of the most qualified individuals:
- Immigrants with a doctorate are more than twice as likely to leave than those with a bachelor’s degree.
- This number grows to three times as likely when immigrants face stagnant income growth.
Economic Consequences and Expert Commentary
Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the ICC, warns that this “brain drain” will hurt Canada’s ability to respond to its economic challenges, including the federal goal to double non-U.S. exports in the next decade.
“These are the people who have built exactly the things – the railways, the infrastructure, the housing projects – in other countries, where they do it better than us, faster than us and cheaper than us,” Bernhard said in an interview. “They’re the ones who can help us catch up. When we lose those people, we lose critical expertise.”
The federal government has stabilized permanent resident admissions at 380,000 for the next three years. The ICC projects that if current trends continue, over 20,000 immigrants will leave Canada by 2031.
“The people who are uniquely positioned to help us realize our own goals… are the ones who are leaving the fastest,” Bernhard stated. “This is not just the moral cost of selling a talented immigrant a false promise – this is avoidable self-sabotage.”
Sectors Most Affected
The report identifies the fastest-growing occupations with the weakest retention rates:
- Business and finance management
- Information and communications technology
- Engineering and architecture management
- Manufacturing and processing engineering
Specific data shows that experienced managers and executives leave at a rate 193% of the average, while healthcare professionals leave at a rate 36% higher than average.
A Call for a Retention Strategy
The report, based on Statistics Canada data tracking immigrants from 1982 to 2020, notes that this trend has persisted for 40 years. Bernhard argues that immigration services are often geared toward language training and basic settlement, which highly skilled immigrants may not need.
He calls for a fundamental shift in strategy, suggesting Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) should refocus from being a “bouncer” to acting as the nation’s human resources department.
“Is (IRCC) the recruiter and making sure people come here and succeed,” Bernhard asked, “or is it the security guard to make sure that the bad people don’t come in?”
