This past year we conducted research based on long-distance moves taken in 2019 to see where Canadians are moving to and from. To put together the study we looked at over 1300 moves, seeing which cities and provinces saw the biggest/smallest amount of moves. In this blog, we’ll break down the provinces which saw the biggest growth based on moves to the province. We will also look at which provinces saw the biggest drop-off. We will also look at which cities saw the largest and smallest amount of moves by percentage, and total numbers.
Provinces
Most Inbound Moves
| Province | % of Total Inbound Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Ontario | 28.9% |
| 2. British Columbia | 28.1% |
| 3. Alberta | 16.8% |
| 4. Quebec | 6.4% |
| 5. Manitoba | 4.2% |
| 6. Saskatchewan | 2.3% |
| 7. New Brunswick | 1.4% |
| 8. United States | 1.0% |
| 9. Northwest Territories | 0.5% |
| 10(T). PEI | 0.2% |
| 10(T). Newfoundland and Labrador | 02.% |
Most Outbound Moves
| Province | % of Total Outbound Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Ontario | 30.6% |
| 2. British Columbia | 30.4% |
| 3. Manitoba | 13.4% |
| 4. Alberta | 12.6% |
| 5. Quebec | 3.1% |
| 6. Saskatchewan | 2.2% |
| 7. Nova Scotia | 1.2% |
| 8 (T). New Brunswick | 0.1% |
| 8 (T). PEI | 0.1% |
Provinces with the Highest Gain (Moves in minus moves out)
| Province | +/- of All Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Alberta | +57 |
| 2. Quebec | +45 |
| 3. Nova Scotia | +33 |
| 4. New Brunswick | +18 |
| 5. United States | +14 |
| 6. Northwest Territories | +7 |
| 7. Newfoundland and Labrador | +3 |
| 8. Saskatchewan | +2 |
| 9. PEI | +2 |
| 10. Ontario | -23 |
| 11. British Columbia | -31 |
| 12. Manitoba | -126 |
We should consider that we saw 4.4% of moves happen within British Columbia and 1.8% of moves happen with Ontario.
Cities
Cities With The Most Inbound Moves
| City | % of All Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Toronto, ON | 9.3% |
| 2. Calgary, AB | 8.3% |
| 3. Vancouver, BC | 6.7% |
| 4. Ottawa, ON | 5.8% |
| 5. Edmonton, AB | 4.5% |
| 6. Victoria, BC | 3.4% |
| 7. Winnipeg | 3.2% |
| 8. Montreal, QC | 2.4% |
| 9. Kelowna, BC | 2.0% |
| 10. Surrey, BC | 1.7% |
| 11. Halifax, NS | 1.5% |
| 12(T). North Vancouver, BC | 1.2% |
| 12(T). Mississauga, ON | 1.2% |
| 14. Burnaby, BC | 1.1% |
| 15. London, ON | 1.0% |
Cities With The Most Outbound Moves
| City | % of Outbound Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Winnipeg, MB | 12.3% |
| 2. Vancouver, BC | 10.3% |
| 3. Toronto, ON | 9.5% |
| 4. Edmonton, AB | 5.6% |
| 5. Ottawa, ON | 5.3% |
| 6. Calgary, AB | 4.3% |
| 7. Surrey, BC | 2.6% |
| 8. Burnaby, BC | 2.4% |
| 9(T). North Vancouver | 2.1% |
| 9(T). Victoria, BC | 2.1% |
| 11. Coquitlam, BC | 1.8% |
| 12. Oakville, ON | 1.6% |
| 13(T). Montreal, QC | 1.3% |
| 13(T). Regina, SK | 1.3% |
| 15. London, ON | 1.2% |
Cities With the Highest Net Gain of Moves (+/-)
| City | +/- of All Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Calgary, AB | +55 |
| 1. Montreal, QC | +24 |
| 3. Kelowna, BC | +19 |
| 4. Victoria, BC | +18 |
| 5. Halifax, NS | +11 |
| 6. Hamilton, ON | +9 |
| 7(T). Ottawa, ON | +7 |
| 7(T). Squamish, BC | +7 |
| 7(T). Yellowknife, NWT | +7 |
| 10. Mississauga, ON | +6 |
Cities with the Biggest Net Loss
| City | +/- of All Moves |
|---|---|
| 1. Vancouver, BC | -49 |
| 2. Burnaby, BC | -18 |
| 3. Edmonton, AB | -14 |
| 4. Surrey, BC | -13 |
| 5(T). North Vancouver | -12 |
| 5(T). Coquitlam | -12 |
| 7. Kingston, ON | -10 |
| 8. Oakville, ON | -9 |
| 9. Regina, SK | -7 |
| 10. Maple Ridge, BC | -6 |
From the data, it’s apparent that Ontario and British Columbia saw the most move volume, but the biggest gains in moving to vs. moves out was actually Alberta with +/- of 57 moves.
For the full data set, head here.
