Toronto’s high housing costs may be pushing immigrants out: report

The number of immigrants who choose to stay in Toronto five years after getting here is declining, Statistics Canada says, and one of the possible reasons why will likely not come as a surprise to most.

In a report released last month, the federal agency said it is seeing a “downward trend” in the five-year retention rate of immigrants in the country’s top three urban centres: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

In Toronto, the percentage of immigrants who settled in the city in 2023 after arriving five years earlier was 78.3 per cent, marking an eight per cent decrease from the cohort that arrived in 2013.

The drop-off was less pronounced, but still felt, over the same period of time in Montreal and Vancouver, where retention rates decreased by 5.3 points to 72.3 per cent and 3.9 points to 83.4 per cent, respectively.

StatCan says most of the newcomers who touched down in Toronto in 2017 later moved to nearby cities, like Oshawa and Hamilton. In other areas outside the Greater Toronto Area, including Windsor, Kitchener, and London, the percentage of immigrants who stayed five years after arriving actually increased.

So why aren’t some immigrants planting roots in Toronto after they arrive? Statistics Canada says the high cost of housing in the city may be a factor.

“The increasing proportion of immigrants moving outside the largest urban centres partly mirrors a shift observed among all Canadians: higher housing costs…” the national agency said in its report, noting the flexibility to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic may have also influenced retention rates in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

As of November 2024, the average price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area sat at just above $1.1 million, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment during Q3 of that year was $2,499.

For context, in Windsor, the Canadian Real Estate Association notes that the average price of a home sold in November was just over $575,000. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in October was roughly $1,100, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Are you a recent immigrant to Canada who has left Toronto due to the high housing costs? How long did you stay in the city before you moved? Where do you call home now? CTV News Toronto wants to hear from you.

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