Conservative MP raises brain drain figures; minister touts National Security Strategy

A Conservative MP pressed the Liberal government Thursday over what he described as a worsening brain drain of Canadian researchers and innovators to the United States, while the Minister of Public Safety used his answer to promote a National Security Strategy released the same day.

Niagara South MP Fred Davies said recent data showed a 142 per cent rise in what he called an innovation exodus, with 34 per cent of immigrants holding PhDs leaving Canada within 25 years and innovation-sector workers earning 46 per cent more in the United States. Davies blamed the Liberal government's immigration approach for the trend.

"The Liberals have brought in too many people too fast for housing, healthcare, and now Canada's best and brightest are leaving, including those who bring real innovation and jobs to our economy," Davies said. "Why isn't the Prime Minister trying to reverse this brain drain instead of planning higher immigration levels?"

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The parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Safety replied that innovation and research retention was a major government concern, pointing to an international talent attraction strategy and action plan launched in 2025. He said the strategy was designed to recruit world-class researchers and advance Canada's global competitiveness and research excellence, and added that over the past six to nine months a large number of U.S.-based researchers had moved to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Davies returned in a follow-up to raise a separate concern within the immigration system, saying over 30,000 applicants under the federal Startup Visa program were stuck in what he called "bureaucratic purgatory." He then turned to the National Security Strategy released earlier Thursday, calling it "a nothing burger" and saying it failed to address the serious screening problems for non-citizens seeking entry to Canada.

Davies said the Canada Border Services Agency had 675 reports seeking deportation on national security grounds but that only 44 people were actually removed. "This is a disaster," he said, again asking whether the Liberals would reduce immigration levels.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree focused his reply on the National Security Strategy released Thursday, describing it as historic and saying it took an all-of-government approach to national security.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to ensure that we have a strategic view of national security," Anandasangaree said, adding that specific strategies covering public safety, intelligence, defence, and the economy and foreign policy would follow in the coming weeks and months.