Non-resident and CRA

Below is an excerpt from a September 2018 article from Investors Group entitled "What Happens to Your Assets When You Leave Canada?"

When you leave Canada and sever your residential ties to Canada, you must file a final departure tax return. Let’s say you will be leaving Canada on November 1st. On that day, you will cease to be a resident of Canada and will be deemed to have disposed of all your non-registered investment assets at their fair market value. This is known as a deemed disposition and you will have to report the capital gains or losses that result from it.

RRSPs, tax free savings accounts (TFSAs), registered education savings plans (RESPs) and your principal residence are not subject to this deemed disposition but be aware of the tax consequences in your new country. For example, if you move from Canada to the United States, your TFSA will become taxable by the IRS.

If it is determined that you are a resident of Canada for income tax purposes, you are required to file a Canadian tax return and report your worldwide income on your personal Canadian return. If the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) determines that you are a non-resident of Canada, you do not need to file a tax return if your only Canadian-source income is investment income, but you will have to pay a withholding tax on the Canadian-source income.

Read the full article for a full overview here.