U.S. is taking in a lot of Canadians, immigration numbers up 142% - National Post

Cars wait in line to enter the United States at a border crossing at the Canada-U.S. border in Blackpool, Que., on Feb. 2, 2025. Photo by ANDREJ IVANOV /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentDrawing from recent data released by the White House that show immigration to the U.S. has fallen from almost every country except Canada, the non-profit civic group Build Canada is sounding the alarm on a potential brain drain from this country into the United States.

A social media post from Rapid Response 47, a White House account launched last year, shows legal immigration down this year from almost every corner of the Earth. Drop-off ranges from 16 per cent in Western Europe and 17 per cent in Southeast Asia to 89 per cent in central Africa and 99 per cent in central Asia.

The two countries bucking the trend are Mexico, where immigration numbers are up 17 per cent, and Canada, which has more than doubled its numbers, increasing 142 per cent. Or as Build Canada says in its post: “The U.S. is taking in Canadians. A lot of them.”

Canadian immigration to the US is up. By a lot. ✈️Our universities and institutions shape world-class talent, only for them to head to Silicon Valley for better opportunities.We can do something about it 👇 https://t.co/dDiccC2NIs pic.twitter.com/00cVJCZge1

Pulling data from Statistics Canada and elsewhere, the group notes that 120,640 people left Canada last year, the highest number since records began in 1952. It adds that 34 per cent of immigrants with PhDs leave Canada within 25 years, compared to just 16 per cent of high school grads — the so-called “leaky bucket” problem. It also found that tech workers typically make 46 per cent more in the U.S. than in Canada.

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The group warned that fewer rivals for U.S. green cards from the rest of the world will continue to make it easier for Canadians to head south, and that “those who go are mostly highly skilled and well paid.”

Lucy Hargreaves, co-founder and CEO of Build Canada, said in an interview that such numbers represent a serious problem. “It is this cohort of highly talented, highly educated Canadians who have the potential to be top earners who are going to the U.S. to work in high-growth industries, especially software grads, but also other professional services,” she said.

“We know that the wages that are on offer in the U.S. are significantly higher than Canada. The economy is growing much faster, and there is an incredible amount of opportunity, particularly if you are a young person in a field like technology, where there’s significant job opportunity and growth.”

Build Canada has been beating a drum for some time now about the brain drain, and it often comes down to a single factor: cash.