INTERNAL MIGRATION FOR RECENT IMMIGRANTS TO CANADA

Internal migration decisionmaking for recent immigrants may occur under conditions of extreme uncertainty and limited information. Migration behavior may be constrained by language barriers availability of settlement assistance, and differential levels and access to information about alternative locations and opportunities. Poisson regression models are estimated for the number of internal migrations experienced by immigrants in the first three years of residence in Canada. The results suggest that internal migration in the first year after arrival is strongly affected by characteristics such as admission status, destination at arrival, reason for immigration, and area of origin. With increasing length of residence in Canada, though, the effect of these admission factors on internal migration behavior diminishes.