The Hongcouver | Canada's millionaire migrants earn less than refugees, so why bother with wealth migration?

But was the patient worth saving in the first place?

Wealth migration has drawn tens of thousands of rich Chinese to Canada recently and it has plenty of supporters here in Vancouver - real estate agents, some segments of the immigration industry, and those in the business of selling luxury goods and services spring to mind.

The arguments in favour of such programmes (excluding the dubious short-term benefit of selling passports) generally run thus: Millionaire migrants, by definition, are economically successful individuals who bring talent and money-making expertise with them to Canada. Their children are likely to be well-educated and similarly successful, long-term boons to the Canadian economy.

But the numbers do not stack up.

Logic would dictate that big-earning millionaires continue to earn big after settling in Canada. They might take a pause from their business activities while they settle in to their new country, but it’s only a matter of time before the money, and the trickle-down benefits, start flowing, right?