People Leaving Canada: Net Emigration Trends from 1972 to 2024

Emigration in Canada refers to people who leave the country to live abroad, either permanently or for an extended period. While Canada is known for welcoming immigrants, it also sees thousands of residents moving away each year for reasons such as job opportunities, family, retirement, or lifestyle changes.

Tracking net emigration—the difference between people leaving and returning—helps show how Canada’s population is changing over time. This data is important for understanding migration patterns and planning for the country’s future needs.

How Net Emigration Is Calculated in Canada

Net emigration is calculated by subtracting the number of returning emigrants from the number of people who leave Canada (emigrants). For the period from 1991 to June 2016, the calculation includes temporary emigration as well: emigrants plus net temporary emigration, minus returning emigrants.

Number of People Leaving Canada per Quarter

Year	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
1946	12,738	21,176	25,078	12,727	71,719
1947	8,009	13,404	18,624	24,090	64,127
1948	23,076	34,199	33,932	34,207	125,414
1949	23,265	30,243	22,641	19,068	95,217
1950	14,470	22,816	16,964	19,662	73,912
1951	25,914	53,871	50,100	64,506	194,391
1952	42,743	55,314	37,239	29,202	164,498
1953	22,937	55,399	46,762	43,770	168,868
1954	28,223	57,542	41,088	27,374	154,227
1955	17,627	40,790	28,190	23,339	109,946
1956	18,963	50,961	40,085	54,848	164,857
1957	62,460	119,956	61,850	37,898	282,164
1958	21,243	46,501	32,387	24,720	124,851
1959	16,955	40,134	28,266	21,573	106,928
1960	16,599	41,442	25,802	20,268	104,111
1961	11,839	24,943	19,386	15,521	71,689
1962	11,762	22,299	22,507	18,018	74,586
1963	13,410	28,034	27,900	23,807	93,151
1964	17,546	33,777	33,343	27,940	112,606
1965	22,279	40,619	45,511	38,349	146,758
1966	30,713	55,288	58,533	50,209	194,743
1967	43,989	64,969	65,635	48,283	222,876
1968	35,601	49,738	51,037	47,598	183,974
1969	30,788	40,333	48,571	41,839	161,531
1970	30,783	40,052	42,488	34,390	147,713
1971	27,899	31,278	34,828	27,895	121,900
1972	23,567	30,746	32,474	35,219	122,006
1973	26,288	44,545	49,057	64,310	184,200
1974	45,302	58,787	62,312	52,064	218,465
1975	43,448	51,459	54,550	38,424	187,881
1976	32,359	44,695	41,539	30,836	149,429
1977	26,048	32,508	33,797	22,561	114,914
1978	20,332	24,277	21,948	19,756	86,313
1979	18,866	23,948	32,052	37,230	112,096
1980	34,349	40,194	37,376	31,579	143,498
1981	26,789	31,494	35,931	34,580	128,794
1982	29,707	35,121	29,700	26,803	121,331
1983	22,002	22,899	23,008	21,468	89,377
1984	19,052	25,064	24,881	19,602	88,599
1985	18,221	21,221	24,330	20,567	84,339
1986	19,342	24,418	26,207	29,376	99,343
1987	34,688	40,609	42,535	34,199	152,031
1988	32,999	42,478	47,242	38,815	161,534
1989	40,480	51,095	53,775	46,166	191,516
1990	43,297	60,119	62,927	50,081	216,424
1991	51,621	56,753	54,876	69,526	232,776
1992	56,579	63,300	70,126	64,851	254,856
1993	62,298	69,615	71,534	53,307	256,754
1994	50,665	59,854	66,559	47,317	224,395
1995	50,904	55,958	58,259	47,754	212,875
1996	51,288	60,177	62,750	51,846	226,061
1997	52,844	57,417	60,845	44,928	216,034
1998	42,813	45,873	47,317	38,181	174,184
1999	40,153	47,543	53,841	48,434	189,971
2000	45,564	57,871	66,518	57,476	227,429
2001	58,485	70,048	69,951	52,154	250,638
2002	61,589	72,711	52,919	41,830	229,049
2003	45,558	58,863	63,340	53,588	221,349
2004	54,927	67,246	65,589	48,097	235,859
2005	56,439	74,474	75,946	55,387	262,246
2006	55,134	67,914	70,354	58,247	251,649
2007	47,873	61,653	71,665	55,572	236,763
2008	53,147	69,248	71,320	53,547	247,262
2009	50,789	69,657	75,401	56,371	252,218
2010	58,056	80,807	84,305	57,571	280,739
2011	49,571	67,696	71,864	59,604	248,735
2012	55,566	73,009	66,907	62,343	257,825
2013	58,255	75,610	65,409	59,772	259,046
2014	64,461	78,294	65,546	52,007	260,308
2015	51,129	72,093	78,903	69,742	271,867
2016	86,246	88,297	68,231	53,611	296,385
2017	72,837	78,015	70,134	65,551	286,537
2018	80,007	87,677	82,292	71,078	321,054
2019	65,953	94,280	103,713	77,228	341,174
2020	69,140	34,072	40,119	41,263	184,594
2021	70,492	74,440	122,916	138,198	406,046
2022	113,803	118,319	122,199	83,291	437,612
2023	145,496	117,927	107,988	100,406	471,817
2024	121,733	134,138	124,239	103,481	483,591

Data Source:

Source Name:	Statistics Canada. Table 17-10-0040-01 Estimates of the components of international migration, quarterly
Source Link:	https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1710004001
Release Date:	2025-03-19