Relocation News: 2.7M Canadians living abroad

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There are some 2.7 million Canadians living abroad, including many who
have returned to the countries of their birth after obtaining Canadian
citizenship, according to the author of a new report.

Kenny Zhang, senior research analyst at the Asia Pacific Foundation of
Canada and author of Recognizing the Canadian Diaspora, says this has
mostly positive economic implications for Canada.

"These people create a stronger link between Canada and the country
they are moving to," says Zhang. "Those people have brought back
Canadian tastes, and encourage doing business with Canadian companies."

An example of this is the demand for Blenz coffee by Canadians studying
or working in China. In 2003, Vancouver-based Blenz opened franchises
in China. Today, it has 19 outlets there.

There is, however, also a downside to having so many Canadians living
abroad, as the country loses people who generally are highly educated
and have good business skills.

Using figures from the last census taken in 2001, Zhang estimates that
there are 2.7 million Canadians living abroad, representing 8.8 per
cent of the 2001 resident population. The figure includes 1.2 million
Canadians living in the U.S., and 644,000 in Asia. Zhang says it is "a
reasonable assumption" that the figure is actually higher, but we won't
know until this year's census is completed.

The numbers also suggest that the "brain drain" from other countries to
Canada is starting to reverse itself. For example, more than 200,000
Hong Kong immigrants to Canada have resettled in their native city.
Most moved to Canada in the 1990s, concerned about the 1997 handover of
Hong Kong to communist China. However, says Zhang, having watched a
relatively smooth transition over the past nine years, and now that
China has become an economic powerhouse, many have moved back.

Zhang is critical of the Canadian taxation structure, which causes
expatriates to break their ties with Canada to avoid being taxed.

Info Source:
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=f0eaeaac-0836-4e1d-bc0a-cc277eb36053