Asia Pacific Foundation Discovers Canada's Secret Province

VANCOUVER, BC - Canada has a hidden province, more populous than Manitoba or Saskatchewan, with more citizens than all of Atlantic Canada. Where is this ‘secret’ province? It’s in the United States and in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, China and in dozens of other countries around the world. It is made up of the estimated 2.8 million Canadian citizens who live outside our national borders – around 8% of all Canadians. This community of Canadians is bigger than the City of Toronto, the Ville de Montreal or Metro Vancouver… and it’s growing.This new estimate of the size of the Canadian Diaspora is the result of an in-depth study released today by the Canadians Abroad Project of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

In Canada’s Secret Province: 2.8 Million Canadians Abroad, Dr. Don DeVoretz, Research Director of the Canadians Abroad Project, notes that Canada does not collect emigration statistics, so there is no simple way to measure the size of the population of Canadians living permanently outside the country. The report estimates the total number of Canadians living abroad by drawing on information from two original studies by the research consortium of the Foundation’s Canadians Abroad Project. These looked at detailed Canadian Census data and the Longitudinal Immigration Database of Statistics Canada.

“While it is interesting in itself to know how many Canadians live overseas, the data gathered on these citizens who have an absolute right of return to Canada can be used to examine the possible future impact of return migration on Canada’s social programs and labour force,” Dr. DeVoretz explained.

The report paints a picture of the growing Canadian Diaspora. It finds that between 1996 and 2006, people who are Canadian by naturalization moved overseas at three times the rate of citizens who are Canadian by birth, although the majority of Canadians living overseas were born in this country. More than half – 57% – of all overseas Canadians live in the US, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom or Australia. Young Canadians, those in the 21-25 year-old-age bracket, left Canada at twice the overall average rate, and men left more frequently than women.

Commenting on the findings, APF Canada President and CEO Yuen Pau Woo said “we have this enormous community of Canadians – bigger than the City of Toronto, bigger than Metro Vancouver – that we know very little about. Are they planning to stay abroad for the rest of their lives? What are the implications for citizenship, taxation, health care, and labour markets? How will this Canadian Diaspora contribute to Canada’s business, education, research and diplomatic ties with the rest of the world? These are some of the questions that the Foundation will be investigating, to help policymakers develop appropriate responses to a vitally important, and complex, issue.”

The full report Canada’s Secret Province: 2.8 Million Canadians Abroad can be accessed at: /sites/default/files/canadiansabroad/WP_09_5_DD_estimate.pdf.

Also released today are profiles of the Canadian Diaspora in seven countries or regions. These can be accessed at http://www.asiapacific.ca/en/canadiansabroad/publications#2.

The Canadians Abroad Project is a policy research consortium initiated by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada with the support of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Government of British Columbia and the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation.

For additional information, please contact:

Jessica Brunt
Media Coordinator
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Tel:  604-630-1541 
Email: jessica.brunt[at]asiapacific[dot]ca