What is Brain Drain?

Brain drain is the loss of academic or skilled people by emigration. Canada looses many people to the United States. Many of the Canadians that are moving are ranging in fields from health and sciences to engineering and information technology. They are moving for better salaries, lower taxes and better opportunities.

Impacts on Canada

This is a problem because it is threatening to hurt Canadian economy and competetiveness. As well Canadian tax payers should be concerned because all of our taxes are going to support their education only to see them leave upon graduation for better opportunnites in the United States. It is also a lost for Canada because all of their knowledge, skills and ideas are going to U.S.

Cases of Brain Drain in Canada

The people that we loose to the Brain Drain are some of the most brightest that we have. Out of the 1995 graduates, 44% said that they graduated in the top ten percent of their program in 1995. Moreover, they were more likely to have received scholarships and other types of awards than their counterparts who remained in Canada, but because of the high Education level and job oppotunities they made the decision to move.

In the 1990's Canada suffered a huge Brain Drain to the United States. A range of 22,000 to 35,000 people who had both permanent and temporary jobs left for the United States. It is continually increasing each year.

Related Articles / Links:
Article #1:Brain drain and brain gain: The migration of knowledge workers fromand to Canada
Article #2:International Migration of Skilled Workers: Facts and Factors, 1999
Article #3:Brain drain and brain gain: The migration of knowledge workers into and out of Canada
Article #4: Brain drain small but significant: StatsCan
Article #5: Does the Canadian Brain Drain Still Exist?