How many US companies have moved to Canada since 2020?

1. The data gap: no single verified headcount exists

Canada’s open-data inventory contains a dataset on “Businesses that moved activities from outside of Canada into Canada, by industry and enterprise size,” but the extract provided does not include a single aggregated number covering 2020–2025, meaning the publicly available government file is the right place to look for a count but the reporting supplied here does not present a summarized total ^[1]. Journalists and trade groups cite examples, percentages, and sectoral patterns, yet none of the supplied articles offers a reliable, verified cumulative figure of U.S. firms that have “moved to Canada” since 2020 ^{[2] [3]}.

2. Evidence of a discernible trend, not a mass exodus

Multiple outlets and economic-development promoters describe clear upward pressure: tariffs, U.S. immigration friction and tax/regulatory calculations are pushing some U.S. firms to expand or shift operations into Canada, and Canadian economic-development agencies actively market those advantages ^{[2] [4] [5]}. Market reporters and trade‑group materials describe more inquiries and some relocations — for example, bottling and manufacturing work moving north as supply chains reconfigure after U.S. tariff moves ^[2] — but the Globe and Mail cautions that, once firms crunch the numbers, many planned moves don’t proceed because relocation is expensive and complex ^[3].

3. Anecdotes and examples, and why they don’t sum to a count

Reporting and promotional materials name individual cases and industry anecdotes — tech firms like Google, MasterClass and Enlighted have established Canadian operations in prior years, and other firms have publicly announced relocations in news and industry write-ups cited here ^{[5] [6]}. Trade-promotional content from Invest in Canada lists superclusters and incentives meant to attract foreign enterprises but does not present a post-2020 tally ^[4]. Independent outlets report both inbound U.S. activity and counterexamples of firms that considered moving and did not follow through, which further complicates any attempt to add up “moves” without a consistent definition (headquarters vs. operations vs. hiring) ^{[3] [7]}.

4. Definitions matter: headquarters vs. operations vs. hires

The question “How many U.S. companies have moved to Canada” depends on what “moved” means: a formal redomiciling of headquarters, transfer of significant operations, opening new R&D or production sites, or simply hiring employees through Canadian subsidiaries or PEOs — and reporting notes that firms often choose less-permanent or partial approaches like setting up subsidiaries or using employment firms rather than full redomicile ^{[8] [3]}. Government datasets track “activities moved into Canada” by sector and enterprise size, which captures many but not all of those permutations and still requires careful filtering to isolate U.S.-origin firms ^[1].

5. What the evidence implies and how to get a precise number

The supplied coverage collectively indicates an increase in U.S. firms establishing or expanding operations in Canada since 2020 driven by talent-immigration frictions, tariff-driven reshoring to avoid U.S. barriers, and Canadian incentives, yet it does not establish a single verified count of companies that have “moved” ^{[2] [5] [4]}. To produce an authoritative number, the necessary next step is to query the Government of Canada dataset for the 2020–present observation window, cross-check corporate filings for redomiciles and foreign direct investment records, and reconcile definitions of “move” ^[1]. Until that multi-source consolidation is done, any headline number would be speculative based on the materials provided ^{[1] [3]}.