Why 2.17M Canadians Have Left Canada Since 2022?

The hosts open with troubling new data showing that Canada is experiencing a deepening brain drain, with highly educated immigrants and skilled Canadians leaving the country at accelerating rates. They highlight that while low-skilled workers tend to stay, a staggering 36% of PhDs, healthcare professionals, and scientists leave within just five years, and overall one in five immigrants exits within 25 years. This exodus isn’t limited to newcomers: between 2022 and 2025, 2.17 million Canadians—about 5% of the population—left the country, overwhelmingly skilled workers seeking better opportunities abroad. The hosts argue this trend signals a structural failure in Canada’s economic conditions and long-term planning.

They pivot to the broader issue: Canada is becoming unaffordable and uncompetitive. The cost of living has surged, quality-of-life rankings have plunged from 12th to 27th globally, and wages haven’t kept up with inflation for years. They note that public-sector expansion—an 80% increase in federal bureaucracy over the last decade—has driven government spending and deficits sharply higher, pushing taxes upward while service quality stagnates. Meanwhile, the private sector is increasingly squeezed, with entrepreneurs and professionals questioning why they should stay when other countries offer higher pay, lower taxes, and better living standards.

The discussion widens into fiscal sustainability. The hosts cite reports showing Canada’s debt racing toward the $3 trillion mark, annual deficits approaching $80 billion, and mortgage qualification now requiring incomes above $200,000 in major cities while the average Canadian earns just $59,000. Household debt continues to climb, consumer prices rose another 2.2% in October alone, and analysts warn a recession could arrive by March. Crime is rising, essential expenses are unaffordable, and one-third of Canadians struggle to buy proper meals—conditions the hosts argue are pushing talented citizens to conclude that staying in Canada no longer makes sense.

They also explore how deteriorating business environments, new regulatory burdens, and declining healthcare performance are accelerating the outflow of skilled workers. Even doctors in Quebec face new performance-based pay pressures in a system already plagued by 8-hour ER waits. As companies—from major firms to small startups—relocate abroad, they take jobs, entrepreneurship, and innovation with them. The hosts frame this as a warning sign: Canada’s best talent is voting with their feet, and the country risks hollowing out its productive class.

Finally, the hosts question whether Mark Carney’s promised economic turnaround is realistic. They argue that his fast-tracked projects are mostly repackaged initiatives, his fiscal math doesn't add up, and his commitment to Net Zero will impose further economic constraints. While they say they’d like to believe the promises, they find it implausible that Canada’s deep structural problems can be fixed within the next three years. They close by asking viewers—whether conservative or liberal—to weigh in on whether Carney’s plan is believable and what it would actually take for Canada to reverse its decline and stop the accelerating talent exodus.

https://www.tcf-fca.ca/statcan-data-record-number-people-leaving-canada/
https://www.westernstandard.news/canadian/canadas-top-immigrants-are-quitting-the-country-faster-than-ever/69088
https://thehub.ca/2025/10/18/the-u-s-is-out-competing-canada-in-rewarding-top-tier-immigrants-with-higher-pay-study
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-top-30-countries-by-quality-of-life/
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2025-10/gap-in-labour-market-performance-of-highly-educated-immigrants-in-canada.pdf
https://www.bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/swp2024-49.pdf
https://www.westernstandard.news/news/cost-of-ottawa-bureaucracy-soars-80-in-a-decade-ctf-demands-cuts/69076
https://thehub.ca/2025/11/13/the-numbers-dont-lie-violent-crime-has-surged-nationwide
https://www.junonews.com/p/consumer-price-index-increases-22

0:02 – Skilled Immigrants Leaving Canada
1:14 – 2.17M Canadians Have Left Since 2022
1:44 – Why Top Talent Won’t Stay
2:52 – Cost of Living & Declining Quality of Life
3:33 – Wages Not Keeping Up
4:40 – Bureaucracy Up 80%
5:47 – Taxes Rising With Debt
6:19 – Canadians Can’t Afford Homes
7:01 – Household Debt & Food Insecurity
8:09 – Crime, Inflation & Recession Warnings
9:58 – Entrepreneurs and Doctors Leaving Too
11:15 – Quebec’s New Physician Pressure
12:03 – Carney’s Promises Questioned
13:00 – Can Canada Recover?