Ontario’s population declines as exodus to elsewhere continues Out-migration gained pace as housing costs soared and unemployment climbed to 700,000.

By Tom Parkin

August 112, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

Net migration between Ontario and other provinces, Q1 2015 to Q1 2025

Ontario’s population declined in the first quarter of 2025 for only the second time on record as the number of people moving from Ontario to another province exceeded the number moving in from other provinces, according to Statistics Canada’s data released in July.

Statistics Canada’s Population Estimates tracks Ontario’s population each quarter going back to 1951. The only other population decline was in Q4 2020, when international immigration was temporarily closed and many jobs started to be done remotely.

In Q1 2025, 23,777 people moved from Ontario to a different province but only 18,540 moved from another province to Ontario.

Ontario’s interprovincial migration went unreported

The Toronto Star and Global News reported on the most recent Statistics Canada data and mentioned Ontario’s population decline, but neither media platform noted Ontario’s net negative interprovincial migration. The Toronto Sun and CTV News ran a Canadian Press story with no information on Ontario’s population decline or its net negative interprovincial migration. CBC does not appear to have reported on the June data release.

Ontario’s net migration with other provinces moved neutral in 2020 then turned sharply negative in 2021 as housing costs skyrocketed and unemployment began to climb.

Between March 2020 and February 2022, the average benchmark house purchase price in the Greater Toronto Area increased 53 per cent. Ontario’s unemployment rate pushed above the national average in mid-2020. In July, Ontario’s unemployment rate was a full point higher than the national rate, with 700,000 workers unemployed.

Difference in unemployment rate performance, Canada and Ontario

Alberta, B.C. top destination for “Ex-tarians”

Half of those exiting Ontario relocated to either Alberta (31 per cent) or British Columbia (19 per cent).

Percentage of Ontario out-migrants resettling in each other province, Q1 2025

It would appear that Ontario is no longer a place to grow.