What’s Driving British Columbians to Leave? Survey Finds Key Reasons

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Chandra Philip

8/5/2025|Updated: 8/5/2025

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The number of people leaving B.C. for other provinces has been increasing, and the Business Council of B.C. (BCBC) says it knows why.

In a recent report, Stay With BC: Voices and Solutions for a Brighter Future, the BCBC asked residents why they would consider leaving the province, and included responses in its publication.

Of those residents who are thinking of moving, the number one reason was housing affordability (36 percent). Another 28 percent said taxes were too high in B.C., while 23 percent said wages were not keeping up with the cost of living.

BCBC CEO Laura Jones said it was clear people were being “priced out of staying.”

“It’s a stark reminder that without a strong economy and the opportunity to build a future, many of our young and skilled workers will pick up and leave, not by choice but by necessity,” she said.

Jones said the province needed to make it easier to invest, build, and work in B.C.

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“If we don’t, we’re at risk of losing the next generation,” she said.

Statistics show that since 2023 there has been an increase of people moving out of B.C. The majority move to Alberta or Ontario, according to data from Statistics Canada.

In 2023, a total of 16,168 people moved from B.C. to Ontario, and another 33,524 went to Alberta. By comparison, in 2021, the number of those leaving B.C. for Ontario was 13,630 and those moving to Alberta was 19,587. In 2022, 16,236 moved from B.C. to Ontario with an additional 32,968 heading to Alberta.

The numbers dropped slightly in 2024, to 15,876 B.C. residents leaving for Ontario and 31,359 heading to Alberta.

In the first quarter of 2025, B.C. saw 7,217 residents move to Alberta, and another 3,969 move to Ontario, according to StatCan.

BCBC said about 70,000 residents have moved out of B.C. to other provinces or territories over the past year.

It noted that the long-term net interprovincial (incoming minus outgoing) average saw a net 14,000 people move to B.C. from other provinces.

That trend started to change around 2023, when the province saw interprovincial migration between minus 5,000 to minus 9,000 per year, according to BCBC.

“The province has not seen negative net interprovincial migration of this magnitude since the 1998-2002 period,” BCBC authors David Williams and Jairo Yunis wrote in an article.

It noted that the number of people moving into B.C. has dropped to about 55,000 annually, below the long-term average of 62,000.

BCBC said it heard from 3,000 British Columbians across 100 communities for its latest report.

Braden McMillan, BCBC senior director of communications and public affairs, said the number of responses to the report survey was more than expected.

“It was heartbreaking to read so many personal and deeply moving stories from people across the province. But it was also a powerful reminder of how much work is needed to get the economy working for British Columbians again. People are struggling, and they need all the help they can get,” he said.

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Chandra Philip

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Chandra Philip is a news reporter with the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times.