Quebec lost 582,000 citizens in 45 years as young flock out to begin their careers: Fraser Institute

nationalpost.com
June 28, 2016

Quebec lost 582,470 citizens to other provinces between 1971 and 2015, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.

The study suggests that 1.652 million Quebecers moved out of the province while 1.069 million moved in over the 45-year period.

On average, between 1971-1972 to 2014-2015, the annual number of Quebecers that had left the province surpassed those who settled in Quebec by 13,238. Quebec was the only province to see a constant loss of people during those years, the study suggests.

The study’s co-author, Yanick Labrie, said younger people in their career beginnings are often the ones opting to leave Quebec. In his opinion, the phenomenon contributed to the ageing population.

Newfoundland and Labrador saw the most important dip in population in 2015 - a 23.1 per cent drop - ahead of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec.

In 2003-2004, however, Ontario lost more people than Quebec - 142,514 people moved out of Ontario, compared to 101,497 in Quebec. The majority of people who left both provinces moved to Alberta and British Columbia.