Lifetime interprovincial migration in Canada: looking beyond short‐run fluctuations

Abstract

This article studies the lifetime interprovincial migration of the Canada‐born elderly (aged 60 and over), based on the data of the 1996 population census. The outcomes of the lifetime migration are found to be highly consistent with the human capital investment theory: there were substantial net transfers of migrants from the ‘have not’ provinces to the ‘have’ provinces, and the migrants moving in the ‘right’ direction, on average, achieved long‐term income improvements. However, the long‐term income improvements attributable to lifetime migration, both directly and indirectly via educational improvement, were in general not large enough to compensate for the disadvantages of being born in the ‘have not’ provinces and to francophone parents. The lifetime migration is also found to be highly selective by mother tongue and to have aggravated somewhat the spatial polarisation between Francophones and non‐Francophones.

The Geographic Mobility of Elderly Canadians

“…Of course, in time, young migrants age and become seniors, and patterns of migration earlier in life can have consequences in older age. For example, Liaw and Qi ( 2004 ) showed that persons who migrated from one province to another at some time in their lives and who are now seniors have higher incomes than persons who have stayed in their province of birth.…”

Later-Life Migrations in Canada in 2001: A Multilevel Approach

“…A set of explanatory variables drawn from the literature operationalize each of the models, controlling for a variety of variables mediating migration (see, for examples, Liaw and Qi 2004;Marr and Millerd 2004;Meyer and Speare 1985;Speare et al 1991). Individual characteristics including total household income (less than $20,000, $20,000-$39,999, $40,000-$59,999 or $60,000 and greater); age (60 years old and older 5 years prior to Census); gender (female or male); marital status (married, single or divorced, widowed or separated); immigration status (Canadianborn or foreign-born); ethnicity (North American, British Isles, French, Other European, Asian, Aboriginal, and All Other Ethnicities); home language (English only, French only, Combination of English, French or Other, or Not English or French); tenure (own home, rent home, or band housing); labor force status (not in labor force, employed or unemployed); education (high school degree or less, some b All variables significant at p<0.01 with exceptions of * significant at p<0.05 and *** are insignificant university or equivalent, or university bachelor's degree or higher); and activity limitations (no activity limitations, some activity limitations or no stated activity limitations).…”

The return migration patterns of Canadian seniors: insights from the 1991 cancer cohort study

“…Therefore, the 'have not' regions of the Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba, and, until recently, Saskatchewan have experienced a net loss of young, skilled individuals. It is unclear whether the migratory patterns among younger individuals will shift as they become older, such that 'have not' provinces will gain back the losses once individuals approach their retirement years (Liaw and Qi 2004).…”