7 reasons why immigrants leave Canada

According to recent surveys, about 30% of newcomers are highly likely to leave Canada within the first two years of immigration. Why does it happen when Canada is a developed country with high living standards and excellent opportunities? Of course, everyone has their own motivations, but I'll give you the top 7 reasons why immigrants leave. I think it will help you be more realistic about what awaits you in Canada and maybe you’ll even change your mind about immigrating here.

The main mistake immigrants make is inflated expectations. People watch videos on YouTube, listen to friends or someone else, and think that in Canada they’ll get mountains of gold, salaries 10 times higher than at home, houses with swimming pools, huge benefits, and so on. I try to be honest about Canada.

Reasons to dislike Canada

I’ve been living in Canada since 2016, and I’ve never regretted my decision to immigrate. Before I lived my whole life in Ukraine and a year and a half in Poland. Since I’m not going to return, there is a great deal of truth in Canada’s advantages. You can also see our interviews with immigrants who after immigration started traveling, made their wages back home in two days, bought houses, cars, run businesses, and all that stuff within a few years.

But there’s another side. When you immigrate to a new country, you have to cope with a lot of difficulties, solve a lot of problems, adapt, make friends, understand how things work here, and so on. Immigrants who are not ready for this quickly lose their will to live in Canada, and decide to return home. Or they decide to stay, but only because they have spent a lot of effort, time, and money, and they regret it was pointless. There are entire communities and YouTube channels where people swear at Canada, say how bad it is, and advise everyone not to come here.

Of course, there are many reasons why people leave Canada, but I believe most of them have to do with inflated expectations rather than a bad life in Canada.

Adaptation and language

So, the first reason immigrants leave is that they don’t want to adapt and learn the language. Some people come to Canada, but they don’t want to change anything in their life, they don’t want to adjust to another environment, and they blame Canada for everything. Moreover, many newcomers start looking for their compatriots, communicate only with them, look for jobs with immigrants from their country, settle in certain areas, and this greatly hinders their adaptation.

It is another story when people are not ready to accept the way of life and mentality of another country. If you try to network with immigrants from some conservative or religious countries, you will probably meet people who write that Canada has a lot of Asian immigrants who take jobs, that Canada promotes LGBTQ , that you should refuse sex education in school, or that all Canadians are hypocrites because they smile at you and then immediately complain about you, if you make a little noise at inappropriate times. I can go on and on.

Lest you think Canada is bad with these things, I'll tell you right away that in the six years I've lived in Canada, no man has ever hit on me. I have three sons, and they certainly don't feel like girls. If you just accept that some people are not like you, it will be OK.

Finance

The second reason is moving just for money. Of course, everyone expects high salaries in Canada, but if you took some position in your home country it doesn’t mean you will work for Google and get a salary of $10,000 CAD per month in Canada. Yes, salaries like this exist, but you will have to pay 30% of taxes and maybe more.

Newcomers usually have to start life from scratch. Do you remember how you moved up the career ladder back home? You didn’t become a high-paying professional right away but first got some low-paying position. It will be the same in Canada. Maybe you’ll manage to find a good job right away, but don't get your hopes up.

When you first arrive in a new country, you will probably have no connections, no Canadian work experience, no knowledge of the job market, and a limited budget. This is why many people take a low-level position in their field or a job that doesn’t require any qualifications and then move on to other employment opportunities.

A few years ago, I interviewed a guy who got a job in Canada as a usual butcher, having found a job before he moved here, and a short time later he became a supervisor at the same company.

Work

I move on to the next reason why immigrants leave Canada, and it is somewhat similar to the previous one. Not everyone can find a job in their field. Employers may require Canadian work experience, though you can’t get it, and for some professions, you need to get a license or even retrain. Due to the high cost of living, the savings you have brought with you run out quickly, and immigrants have to choose between working for minimum wage or returning home.

Again, I want to give you an example of a nurse. Those who have studied for this profession in Canada are employed as nurses, senior nurses, and maybe health care managers, but those who have studied in their country take much lower positions, they can only be nurse aides, caregivers, or work in professions that doesn’t require education. You have to study in Canada and get a license to become a nurse or doctor.

I also have an interview on this topic, with a woman who worked in her home country as a nurse and got a job in Canada as a caregiver. This is a unique story because the interviewee found a Canadian employer in just one hour being in her home country, and moved in the middle of the pandemic when unemployment was high even among Canadians.

I mean that you shouldn’t be afraid of such situations, they are common in immigration, and many go through it. If you really want to work in your field, it’s still worth considering all options at first. Over time, you’ll save money, make some connections, and you can go back to look for work, or to get additional education.

Climate

The fourth reason Canada may not be right for you is the “cold climate”. Immigrants from many countries are resistant to cold, but many are used to warmth. Ottawa, the city where I live, was even ranked as one of the coldest capitals in the world.

On the other hand, you have to remember that Canada is a huge country. There are cities where it snows several days a year and cars only use summer tires. It’s quite comfortable to live in Ottawa, the housing is heated during the cold season, and in summer you’ll be hot without air conditioning.

Moving from Canada

Another reason is emigrating from Canada to another country. Some immigrants initially don’t plan to live here permanently and move only because they have an opportunity. For example, many people dream of the United States, but it’s almost impossible to immigrate there. By the way, I also wanted to go to the U.S. While our kids are of school ages, we’re not planning to leave. Then it would be nice to spend the winter in Florida. That’s what some Canadian retirees do.

It also happens that an immigrant gets a better job offer in another country, and decides to leave Canada, or vice versa, makes money in Canada, has a good life, and then moves to some resort country, for example, in South America.

Relatives

I have already reached the penultimate reason. It's taking care of elderly relatives back home. If you have immigrated to Canada, you can sponsor your parents and grandparents to move. But there are two hitches. First, there are far more applications to sponsor relatives than Canada is willing to accept. In recent years, invitations have been sent out at random, to those who are just lucky enough. As a result, people have been unable to invite their relatives here for years. The second difficulty is that elderly parents themselves often don’t want to move anywhere, and immigrants have to choose either to stay in Canada or return and take care of relatives.

Deportation

One last thing. There are those immigrants who arrive with fake documents or, for example, apply for refugee status and then get a deportation order out of the country. If you think that doesn't happen, last year there was a scandal in the U.S. with lawyers who helped people apply for refugee status illegally. My wife Ivanna, who is a Canadian licensed immigration consultant, and I told what happened and what a similar story took place in Canada.

Bottom line

Let me summarize. Canada is a welcoming country for immigrants, but it is only suitable for those who are willing to work and persevere. If you want an easy life and success without any effort, this country may not suit you, and you’ll be disappointed. The same goes for people who are looking for easy ways to immigrate. I get questions all the time about how to move without knowing the language, without searching for a job, and so on. Think about it, if you're not ready to start learning the language, how will you live in Canada and deal with other challenges that immigrants face?

But if you realize that it's going to be difficult, and you're ready for it, you can find a lot of opportunities in Canada, and maybe you'll have some success story of your own.

Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today