Canadians are moving to Vancouver and Halifax in droves as their lifestyles continue to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study said.

The rate of people moving to Vancouver for every resident leaving the city has risen by 10.5 per cent since April 2020, a report by LinkedIn published Tuesday said. Meanwhile, the inflow-outflow ratio of residents in Halifax during the same period has jumped by 39 per cent.

The report looked at Canadian LinkedIn users who have changed their location on their online profiles to determine Vancouver and Halifax have been the biggest gainers of internal migration since the pandemic began.

Moving to more attractive cities is an increasingly appealing proposition for many Canadians as the cost of living sky-rockets elsewhere and as remote work becomes more widespread, the report said.

The report said Vancouver’s draws include a more relaxed lifestyle, mild weather and its status as a top destination career-wise for young professionals.

Halifax benefited from cheaper housing compared to other Canadian cities as well as having avoided the worst of the pandemic.

Conversely, Montreal and Toronto have seen an exodus of residents during the same period. Montreal’s inflow-outflow ratio has dropped by 21 per cent, while Toronto’s has slid by 12.2 per cent.

Other Ontario towns such as Hamilton and London have also seen their ratios drop by 18.9 and 7.8 per cent respectively.