This past year we conducted research based on long-distance moves taken in 2019 to see where Canadians are moving to and from. To put together the study we looked at over 1300 moves, seeing which cities and provinces saw the biggest/smallest amount of moves. In this blog, we’ll break down the provinces which saw the biggest growth based on moves to the province. We will also look at which provinces saw the biggest drop-off. We will also look at which cities saw the largest and smallest amount of moves by percentage, and total numbers. 



Most Inbound Moves 

Province% of Total Inbound Moves
1. Ontario28.9%
2. British Columbia28.1%
3. Alberta16.8%
4. Quebec6.4%
5. Manitoba4.2%
6. Saskatchewan2.3%
7. New Brunswick1.4%
8. United States1.0%
9. Northwest Territories0.5%
10(T). PEI0.2%
10(T). Newfoundland and Labrador02.%

Most Outbound Moves

Province% of Total Outbound Moves
1. Ontario30.6%
2. British Columbia30.4%
3. Manitoba13.4%
4. Alberta12.6%
5. Quebec3.1%
6. Saskatchewan2.2%
7. Nova Scotia1.2%
8 (T). New Brunswick0.1%
8 (T). PEI0.1%

Provinces with the Highest Gain (Moves in minus moves out)

Province+/- of All Moves
1. Alberta+57
2. Quebec+45
3. Nova Scotia+33
4. New Brunswick+18
5. United States+14
6. Northwest Territories+7
7. Newfoundland and Labrador+3
8. Saskatchewan+2
9. PEI+2
10. Ontario-23
11. British Columbia-31
12. Manitoba-126

We should consider that we saw 4.4% of moves happen within British Columbia and 1.8% of moves happen with Ontario.


Cities With The Most Inbound Moves

City% of All Moves
1. Toronto, ON9.3%
2. Calgary, AB8.3%
3. Vancouver, BC6.7%
4. Ottawa, ON5.8%
5. Edmonton, AB4.5%
6. Victoria, BC3.4%
7. Winnipeg3.2%
8. Montreal, QC2.4%
9. Kelowna, BC2.0%
10. Surrey, BC1.7%
11. Halifax, NS1.5%
12(T). North Vancouver, BC1.2%
12(T). Mississauga, ON1.2%
14. Burnaby, BC1.1%
15. London, ON1.0%

Cities With The Most Outbound Moves

City% of Outbound Moves
1. Winnipeg, MB12.3%
2. Vancouver, BC10.3%
3. Toronto, ON9.5%
4. Edmonton, AB5.6%
5. Ottawa, ON5.3%
6. Calgary, AB4.3%
7. Surrey, BC2.6%
8. Burnaby, BC2.4%
9(T). North Vancouver2.1%
9(T). Victoria, BC2.1%
11. Coquitlam, BC1.8%
12. Oakville, ON1.6%
13(T). Montreal, QC1.3%
13(T). Regina, SK1.3%
15. London, ON1.2%

Cities With the Highest Net Gain of Moves (+/-)

City+/- of All Moves
1. Calgary, AB+55
1. Montreal, QC+24
3. Kelowna, BC+19
4. Victoria, BC+18
5. Halifax, NS+11
6. Hamilton, ON+9
7(T). Ottawa, ON+7
7(T). Squamish, BC+7
7(T). Yellowknife, NWT+7
10. Mississauga, ON+6

Cities with the Biggest Net Loss 

City+/- of All Moves
1. Vancouver, BC-49
2. Burnaby, BC-18
3. Edmonton, AB-14
4. Surrey, BC-13
5(T). North Vancouver-12
5(T). Coquitlam-12
7. Kingston, ON-10
8. Oakville, ON-9
9. Regina, SK-7
10. Maple Ridge, BC-6

From the data, it’s apparent that Ontario and British Columbia saw the most move volume, but the biggest gains in moving to vs. moves out was actually Alberta with +/- of 57 moves. 


For the full data set, head here.