The Impact of Interprovincial Migration on Aggregate Output and Labour Productivity in Canada, 1987-2006

Interprovincial migration has increased significantly in Canada since 2003. This article develops a methodology to estimate total output gains due to interprovincial migration from two sources: gains due to increased employment, and gains due to re-allocation of workers between provinces with different productivity levels. It estimates that in 2006 the net output gains arising from interprovincial migration were $883.1 million (1997 constant prices), or 0.074 per cent of GDP. Higher employment rates in provinces experiencing a net positive balance of interprovincial migrants were responsible for $398.0 million of the gains and higher output per worker in these provinces was responsible for $485.0 million.