Canada vs. U.S.: Why Young Workers Are Choosing to Leave

Why are so many young Canadians leaving and why are some people suggesting they should be punished for it?In this episode of The Missing Middle, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux break down the growing “brain drain” from Canada to the United States and the shocking proposal that young people who leave should pay a $500,000 exit fee.They dig into what’s really driving this trend: unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, limited career opportunities, and policy decisions that increasingly favour older, wealthier generations.This isn’t about loyalty. It’s about survival and a country that may no longer offer young people a path to the life their parents had.📊 Topics covered:The truth about Canada’s brain drainWhy young workers are choosing the U.S.The economics behind the productivity gapImmigration policy and labour market impactsHousing, wages, and generational inequalityWhat Canada would need to do to win young people backChapters:00:00 Introduction01:00 Why Young Canadians Are Leaving02:25 Cost Of Living And The U.S. Pull Factor03:16 The Real Cost Of Brain Drain04:05 Canada’s Productivity Problem05:12 Punishing Young People Instead Of Fixing Problems05:58 How Politics Shifted Against Younger Generations07:14 Is Brain Drain Being Overblown?08:02 Why The Viral Brain Drain Chart Misleads08:50 Canada’s Record Emigration Problem09:29 Losing The Best And Brightest10:30 Immigration, Talent, And Retention Failures11:14 Is Canada Becoming America’s Farm Team?12:38 How Temporary Workers Changed The Labour Market13:55 What Policies Could Win Young Canadians Back?14:12 Housing As The Core Issue15:17 Taxes, Transfers, And Generational Inequality15:46 Canada’s Value Proposition Problem16:16 Closing Thoughts And Listener QuestionsResearch:Sabrina's National Post column: Fix the brain drain by fixing Canada, not with a $500K exit tax | National Post Statistics Canada — Recent trends in migration flows from Canada to the United States: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2025007/article/00006-eng.htmThe Hub — “Can anyone solve Canada’s brain drain problem?”: https://thehub.ca/2026/04/03/can-anyone-solve-canadas-brain-drain-problem/HRD: Canada's talent exodus: What senior HR leaders can't afford to ignore | Human Resources Director Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina MaddeauxProduced by Meredith MartinFunded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/