OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada’s urban exodus picked up steam into the second yr of the COVID-19 pandemic, with tens of 1000’s of individuals leaving Toronto and Montreal for smaller cities or rural areas, official knowledge confirmed on Thursday.
More than 64,000 folks left Toronto for different components of Ontario from mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 14% from the earlier 12-month interval, based on Statistics Canada inhabitants estimates, with one other 6,600 transferring out of province.
Montreal, Canada’s second largest metropolis, misplaced almost 40,000 residents to different areas of Quebec, up 60% on the yr, with one other 3,600 transferring out of province.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of distant work has prompted tens of 1000’s of Canadians to flee massive and costly cities seeking extra space, and cheaper actual property, in small facilities, cottage cities and coastal areas.
That has helped drive a nationwide housing increase, with costs rising extra sharply in suburbs and small cities than in urban centres, fueling worries locals could possibly be priced out and placing stress on municipal companies.
Nationwide, the everyday house in Canada now prices C$780,400 ($624,870), up 34%, or by nearly C$200,000, since March 2020.
Atlantic Canada has fared properly within the exodus. Halifax, Nova Scotia added greater than 6,000 folks within the yr as much as June 30, 2021, with the overwhelming majority arriving from out of province.
Rural Quebec has boomed, including greater than 25,000 folks from urban facilities inside the predominantly French-speaking province.
The cities within the so-called Golden Horseshoe round Toronto are additionally seeing sturdy inflows. Oshawa added 8,000 folks as residents flowed out of Toronto, and each Hamilton and St. Catharines gained almost 5,000.
Immigration offset a few of Toronto’s inhabitants losses.
($1 = 1.2489 Canadian {dollars})
(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
