H1-B Visa fee increased to $100,000

There is a person named Raj, who earlier used to work as a software developer in Bangalore, inside a big company.
He was drawing a very decent salary.

A few years ago, he quit his job, got Canadian PR, and moved to Canada.
In Canada as well, he got a good job and was doing well professionally.

But just last year, he applied for a US visa, applied for a work permit, and then moved to the city of Seattle in the United States.
Now he is working there and has permanently moved to the US.

Although he had already taken Canadian citizenship just to secure himself, now he wants to stay in the US only.
He does not want to return to Canada anymore.

Apart from him, there is a girl named Nandini.
She came to Canada a few years ago as a student to study nursing.

She completed her studies in Canada, got her PR, became a registered nurse, completed all the licensing and certifications, and now she is working as a registered nurse in Canada.
Her salary is decent.

But her statement is that she came to Canada to get stable, and even after PR and a job, she is still struggling.
There are many other problems, which will be discussed later in the news.

Despite everything, she now wants to leave Canada and go to some other country or back to her home country.
Even though in another country she will again have to deal with licensing, certifications, and maybe even re-study, she is ready to do that.

But she does not want to stay in Canada anymore.

Apart from that, there is a guy named Amit.
He came to Vancouver as a student a few years ago.

He completed his studies.
It’s better not to even talk about his course, but after studies he came on a work permit.

To manage his expenses, he worked in restaurants, McDonald’s, stores, and at the same time did Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes.

He earned a little bit of money and did this for two years.

After two years, he realized that this kind of work will not lead anywhere.
He needed a field job or something proper.
He also realized that PR will not come from Uber or Tim Hortons type jobs.

So he moved to other provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but even there nothing worked out.
After three to four months, he finally went back to his home country, India, and now he has no intention of returning to Canada.

Now if we tell you some shocking facts:
In 2025, around 850,000 people left Canada.
And in 2026, another 236,000 people left.

These include citizens, permanent residents, doctors, dentists, IT professionals, and people who were earning very good money.

So the question arises:
Why are people leaving Canada?
Why are they deciding to leave, or why have they already left?

Canada was once considered a dream country — come here, buy a house, buy a car, system will be set, lifestyle will be great.
Which was definitely true earlier.

But in 2026, especially after COVID, the entire equation has completely reversed.

So in today’s news, we will discuss why record numbers of people are leaving Canada compared to other countries.

Reason 1: Unaffordability

The biggest reason, as per online polls, is unaffordability.

People say that Canada has become extremely unaffordable.
Inflation is through the roof.

If I talk about a one-bedroom apartment rent in Ontario, it is around $2,200 per month.

If an average person earns $3,000 per month, after paying rent, only $800 remains.
Out of that, if $500 goes into groceries, what is left?
What will you save?
What will you invest?
What future can you build?

And this is for a single person.

If you have a family — marriage, kids — then you need a two-bedroom or three-bedroom house.
Rent then becomes $3,000 to $3,500.

Even if husband and wife together earn $6,000, more than 50% goes into rent.
Then car expenses, groceries, utilities — everything adds up.

After COVID, prices of almost everything have increased by around 40%, while salaries have not increased proportionally.

In North America, annual increments of 1–2% are normal.
If someone gets 4–5%, it’s treated like a big achievement.

Because of this, people cannot cope with inflation.

Housing Crisis

Buying a house is even worse.

In big cities, a basic three-bedroom house costs around $1  million.

Down payment is $200,000.

If someone saves $500 per month, how long will it take to save that amount?
And by that time, the house price becomes $1.2 or $1.3 million.

Before COVID, in 2018–2019, similar houses used to cost $400,000–$500,000.
Now the same houses are $800,000–$900,000.

A person earning $70,000–$80,000 annually can only qualify for around $450,000 mortgage.

So buying a house has become nearly impossible.

Daily Expenses Explosion

Groceries have increased by 25% in the last 3–4 years.

Earlier, Walmart cart used to fill in $60.
Now even $160 is not enough.

Utility bills have gone up to $350–$400 per month.
Insurance premiums have doubled in many cases.

Everything — groceries, utilities, rent, mortgage, internet — everything has increased.

Job Market Collapse

Another major reason people are leaving is lack of jobs.

People are struggling for 1–3 years, work permits are expiring, and they still don’t get field jobs.

Many people are surviving by converting student part-time jobs into full-time jobs.

Not everyone is suffering, but majority are.

Even students with good education, skills, projects, Master’s degrees — still no jobs after 2 years.

This is not demotivation — this is reality.

Earlier, settling took 2–3 years.
Now it can take 7–8 years.

Forced Exits Due to PR & Policy Changes

Many people leave not by choice but by force.

PR doesn’t come, work permits don’t extend, CRS scores are too high, rejection rates increase.

Many PNP programs have been shut down or restricted.

Whenever a province gets crowded, programs are closed.

So people are forced to go back home.

Loss of “Canada Feeling” & Social Issues

Many people say Canada no longer feels like Canada.

The peace, safety, culture — it feels missing.

Racism has increased.
Parents are scared for their kids.

Social behavior issues, thefts, public disorder — all visible.

This affects perception, safety, and mental peace.

Expectations vs Reality

People came with movie-like expectations.
Reality is normal struggle life.

Social media shows cars and luxury — behind that are EMIs, stress, anxiety.

People feel cheated by unrealistic expectations.

Taxes & Weather

Taxes and weather were already known, so personally I find these reasons less valid.

At least in Canada, taxes give services.