In the face of sky-high rent and rising food inflation, city dwellers have been fleeing urban centres like Toronto in droves over the past few years, seeking out areas where affordability issues aren't top of mind instead. 

Recently, American moving truck company, U-Haul, analyzed the top Canadian migration cities and provinces of 2023 to determine the areas drawing in the highest number of new residents, and it might not come as a surprise to some that Toronto failed to crack the list.

Interestingly, the study found that Alberta was the leading growth province for 2023, while its largest market, Calgary was Canada's top growth city based on one-way U-Haul transactions.

"We first noticed a strong trend of U-Haul customers moving into Alberta in 2020 because of the affordable housing, and since then the province has continued attracting residents and bringing in new jobs," said Naga Chennamsetty, U-Haul Area District Vice President of Western Canada.

People are yet again leaving Ontario en masse and moving to other provinces😬https://t.co/GxQ655A17n #Toronto #Ontario #Canada

— blogTO (@blogTO) December 22, 2023

It's important to note that the study doesn't account for moves made through other companies, just ones made with U-Haul. Growth cities and provinces were calculated by each area's net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. 

"While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well provinces and cities are attracting and maintaining residents," the index notes. 

While Ontario came in at #10 on the company's list of the top provinces for growth in 2023, plenty of Ontario cities did appear on the city-specific list, including Chatham-Kent, Brantford, Collingwood, Orillia, Trenton, Sudbury, Belleville, Sarnia, and Wasaga Beach. 

According to the index, Ontario posted the biggest net loss for one-way U-Haul customers in 2023, falling from third place in 2022. In fact, 49.1 per cent of one-way customers in 2023 were arriving in the province, versus 50.9 per cent that were leaving. 

Viral video explains why immigrants are leaving Ontario in droves😓 https://t.co/UFsV00HQtQ #Ontario #Canada

— blogTO (@blogTO) January 3, 2024

For comparison, more than 52 per cent of one-way U-Haul customers in Calgary were arrivals in 2023. 

Here are the provinces ranked in order of growth, according to the study: 

1. Alberta 
2. British Columbia 
3. New Brunswick 
4. Saskatchewan 
5. Quebec 
6. Prince Edward Island 
7. Newfoundland & Labrador 
8. Manitoba 
9. Nova Scotia 
10. Ontario 

Here are the top 10 Canadian growth cities in 2023, according to the study: 

1. Calgary, Alberta 
2. Sherbrooke, Quebec 
3. Edmonton, Alberta
4. Kelowna, B.C. 
5. Courtenay, B.C. 
6. Penticton, B.C. 
7. Chatham-Kent, Ontario 
8. Campbell River, B.C. 
9. Levis, Quebec 
10. Brantford, Ontario