Trump, U.S. tariffs muting Canadians' desire to move to America for their career: Survey

Yahoo

10-05-2025

Many Canadians who have considered moving to the United States for career purposes are having second thoughts because of the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the trade war he has since unleashed, a new survey says.
The survey, commissioned by human resources software company Humi, found just over half of those who have thought about working in the U.S. were less likely to consider it due to Trump's election. Around half also say the tariffs imposed by the U.S. lowered the likelihood of making a move.
The trends 'present a unique opportunity to reverse the brain drain to Canada's gain,' a media release from Humi says.
The survey found that 16 per cent of respondents had considered moving to the U.S. for their career in the past five years. The figure is higher for Gen Z (29 per cent) and millennials (23 per cent), and also higher among those with at least a university degree (21 per cent).
Among those who say they had considered moving, 31 per cent say their main motivation was higher compensation, while 29 per cent say it was lower taxes. Higher compensation stood out especially among the subset with at least a university degree, with 42 per cent citing it as the biggest motivator.
'Unfortunately, these findings don't come as a surprise as the Canadian government and companies have long struggled to reverse the trend of brain drain,' Kevin Kliman, Humi's co-founder, is quoted as saying in the release.
Although Trump's election made 52 per cent of those who had considered moving to the U.S. less likely to consider it, it also made 30 per cent more likely to consider it. The tariffs were less polarizing, causing 51 per cent to say they were less likely to consider a move but only 17 per cent to say they were more likely to do so.
Those polled were also asked about a third consideration, that is, the exchange rate between the U.S. and Canadian dollars. That factor made 42 per cent more likely to consider moving, and 29 per cent less likely to consider doing so.
In the release, Kliman says that to capitalize on the lower enthusiasm for a U.S. career move, Canadian employers 'need to focus on retaining the talent they win over, elevating their employment experience and investing in their people.'
Humi says several strategies can help Canadian businesses with these aims, including offering 'competitive benefits packages,' investing in modern, user-friendly technology and talking more openly with staff about how their career goals align with business needs.
Kliman notes that the brain drain is also a policy issue and steps must be taken at that level as well. 'As a co-founder in the Canadian employment space, I also know first-hand that some aspects driving the brain drain are out of companies' hands, so we must work alongside policymakers to drive change,' he said.
The online survey polled 1,515 Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum between April 7 and 9. The release says "for comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20."
John MacFarlane is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jmacf.
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