A description and interpretation of changing primary, return and onward interprovincial migrations in Canada: 1976 to 1986

This paper uses the Public Use Sample of the 1951 and 1956 Canadian census to study the temporal patterns of primary return and onward interprovincial migration in Canada. The classification of these three types of migration is based on in formation on the province of birth and province of residence at the start and end of the census period. To study the propensities of making out- and in-migrations, primary return and onward out- and in-migration rates are calculated according to Long (1988). The main finding is that the spatial pattern of migration flows differed markedly between the 1976-81 and 1981-86 periods, but the components of migration (i.e. overall, age-specific patterns and with respect to personal attributes) remained relatively constant.