This article originally appeared in the Financial Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Jack Mintz, June 17, 2024
In his famous 1970 book Exit, Voice and Loyalty, Albert O. Hirschman argued that members who are unhappy with the organizations they belong to have two choices. They can exit to another organization or they can voice for their desire for change through a governance process. That choice applies in politics, as well. Citizens unhappy with what’s going on in their jurisdiction can either leave or let their views be known through the democratic process.
The talk of the town in Vancouver, where I was this week, was an Angus Reid poll showing that a third of B.C. residents are seriously considering leaving the province because of its high housing costs. Even more shocking, young people — those between 18 and 34, who are more likely than older people to actually change locations — are looking to exit as well.
Statistics Canada’s tally of inter-provincial migration paints a similar picture. Since the third quarter of 2022, more people have been leaving B.C. than coming to it, reversing years of net migration to the province. From the third quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2023 (the latest for which data are available), B.C. had a net loss of 15,000 people to other provinces. Over the same period, 13,000 people left for other countries (once you net out returning emigrants). Put these two numbers together and B.C. lost 28,000 residents in just a year and half.
Of course, the province is still attracting swarms of immigrants from abroad — over 300,000 permanent and non-permanent migrants since the second quarter of 2022. Premier David Eby has criticized the federal government for not providing enough money for asylum seekers compared to Quebec. The federal response? B.C. would get more money if it brought in more immigrants!
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