This is a story of the shoe being on the other foot. For decades, Saskatchewan wrestled with generation after generation of young people leaving Saskatchewan for greener pastures and, while that was good for the Roughriders when they played an away game, it was not helping our economy.
About twenty years ago, though, we started to see that flow slow and then reverse itself. Now we hold our own on inter-provincial migration. But Ontario, once a place that used to be the magnet, is now repelling young people.
High housing costs in Ontario are pushing people – especially young working age individuals – to other parts of Canada. Even after big immigration flows, Toronto last year lost the equivalent of a city the size of Swift Current. And we’re seeing similar trends emerge in BC where housing is also out of reach of the average working wage.
The big winners have been Atlantic Canada and Alberta as the primary destinations for individuals just starting out or in mid-career who see communities with lots of jobs and affordable housing.
