It’s the first time in a decade B.C. has seen 15 months in a row of more people moving out-of-province than it gains — and most are moving to Alberta in the exodus, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
From July to September 2023, B.C. lost a net 4,634 people to other provinces, its second-greatest quarterly dip since 2004. That quarter, 17,186 left B.C. for another province or territory while 12,552 people moved to B.C. from elsewhere in Canada.
That single quarter of losses accounts for nearly as many people as the 4,700 gone in B.C.’s last five-quarter stretch of net losses to other provinces that ended in 2013.
However, B.C. also saw a record number of people arriving from outside Canada, far outweighing its losses to other provinces and the territories.
It added a net 66,100 international migrants last quarter and 151,437 so far in 2023, an increase is largely driven by non-permanent residents, according to Statistics Canada.
In all, B.C.’s 5.6 million population has risen approximately 4.2 per cent in the last year.
B.C.’s interprovincial losses last quarter are second only to Ontario — whose population is nearly triple that of B.C. — which lost 5,952 people, on net, to other provinces during the same period, according to data from Statistics Canada.
And it appears B.C.’s interprovincial losses have been its eastern neighbour’s gains: Alberta was the only province whose population increased significantly from interprovincial moves last quarter, adding 17,094 people to its 4.7 million residents.
Alberta has now recorded gains of more than 10,000 people from elsewhere in Canada for five quarters in a row.
“Most of Alberta’s population gains through inter-provincial migration were due to its exchanges with Ontario and British Columbia,” Statistics Canada said in a release.
Alberta’s government said Tuesday it had ended the “Alberta is Calling” advertisements it began in 2022, boasting “bigger paycheques” and “smaller rent cheques” to convince Canadians to make the move.
However rents in Alberta, particularly in Calgary, have also risen with its growing population.
B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says despite the losses to Alberta, Statistics Canada’s Tuesday report is a positive one for the province.
“Yes, we’ve seen some people leave the province in their inter-provincial migration but overall, the growth in population that we’ve seen in the last quarter but [also] over the last two years is history-making given that the growth is driven by people coming from outside Canada,” he told CBC News in an interview Tuesday.
“People are coming, they see opportunity here [and] they’re coming.”
But Kahlon said he is still concerned when British Columbians cite the rising costs of living and record rents — the highest on average in Canada — as their reasons for looking elsewhere.
“My biggest worry is talent leaving outside of North America, outside of British Columbia, outside of Canada, to other jurisdictions because they can’t afford it,” he said, noting the NDP’s recent legislative changes aimed at increasing the amount of rental housing being built.
“It’s vitally important that we have the infrastructure, the housing, the health care, the schools to support that type of [population] growth.”
While he’s optimistic, Kahlon said Canadians won’t be seeing a “B.C. Beckons” campaign anytime soon.
“People already know it’s a good place to put down roots,” he said.
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