Abstract

Rural areas in Canada are changing. With the continued out-migration of youth and the aging of the population, migration into rural areas has become an important issue for sustaining the population size. This research examines Census Subdivisions (CSDs) with high and low levels of rural in-migration between 1991 and 1996. The unit of analysis for this study are CSDs and the issues are explored at the community level. The findings reveal that migration is a complex topic and that there are various 'push and pull' and 'life-cycle' issues that play a role in the decision-making process. The data show that rural CSDs in British Columbia experienced the highest levels of in-migration, while the Atlantic region, specifically Newfoundland, experienced the lowest levels of inmigration. Through the use of factor and discriminant analysis techniques, the characteristics of the CSDs with both high and low levels of in-migration are uncovered. Typologies for the CSDs were constructed out of the results from the factor analysis.