This phenomenon has been happening since the late '80s when HKers left in droves for Canada to escape impending Chinese takeover in '97.
Family migrate to Canada, get PR/citizenship. Dad returns to HK to run business leaving children and wife behind in Canada to take advantage of free education and welfare system. These people were called taikonauts, a pun on the Chinese words 太空人 which had a double meaning; 'space traveller' and 'man without wife'. Many of the returnees hooked up with Chinese mainland SYTs while their wives were raising their children in the land of the maple tree. Jackie Chan was one such example.