Internal Migration of the Foreign-Born in Canada1

This article uses the Public Use Sample file of the 1986 Canadian census to characterize and explain the interprovincial migration patterns of the foreign-born in Canada. Simple overall in- and outmigration rates are calculated for the foreign-born and compared to the interprovincial migration rates for Canadian-born migrants, specifically primary, return and onward migrants. A two-level nested logit model is then applied for foreign-born migrants age 20–64 to study the effects of personal factors and provincial attributes on their interprovincial migration patterns. The foreign-born have higher in- and outmigration rates than primary migrants, with Ontario having a strong ability to attract and retain the foreign-born. Despite these differences, the foreign-born respond to economic variables in a rational way and relatively little of the migration decision process can be explained by place-of-birth effects. Selectivity with respect to personal factors (i.e., education, age, sex, family type) is similar to the Canadian-born.