Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
05 January 2012
World Migration Patterns
Whether pushed or pulled, humans are on the move everywhere and, while the number of migrants
is rising, their nature is changing
In 2000, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published its first World Migration Report; in it the group said that globally there were 150 million migrants.
The 2010 report says “the number of migrants has grown to 214 million, and the figure could rise to 405 million by 2050, as a result of growing demographic disparities, the effects of environmental change, new global political and economic dynamics, technological revolutions, and social networks.”
Human Migration and the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a technological change that dramatically altered patterns of human settlement.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the harnessing of steam power made large-
But, most of those that migrated did not have stories with happy endings. They simply exchanged lives of rural poverty for lives of urban poverty.
Library and Archives Canada
Migrants from Europe in Quebec in 1911.
Europe Exports its Surplus Population
Demographics caused another mass migration as Europe’s population growth began to test the resources of countries; there was a simple solution to hand – export the problem.
So countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia absorbed Europe’s surplus population.
A History of Migration published by the University of Leiden in the Netherlands notes
that, “In one century (1820-
The University adds that, “From 1820 on the immigration [to the United States] became massive. Between 1820 and 1860 five million immigrants came to the USA, a large part of them were Irish Catholics.
“From 1860 until 1890 13.5 million immigrants went to the USA, a large part of them
were Southern Europeans, Germans, Slaves, and Jews. At the beginning of the 20th
century (1900-
Library of Congress
Ellis Island, New York was the main reception point for immigrants to the United States, such as these people in 1902. The building in the background was a new hospital to treat those who arrived with illnesses.
Increase in Temporary Migrants
However, the mass movement of people between continents seen in the past is slowing down while other trends are becoming apparent.
The International Organization for Migration report says permanent migration is being replaced by temporary movements.
According to Usman Mushtaq, writing for Rabble.ca (July 2010), “From 2002 to 2008, the number of temporary foreign workers present in Canada, most of them in clerical or manual work, increased from 100,000 to 250,000.”
The IOM report predicts that “legal opportunities for migrant labour are likely to
be selective, focusing primarily on migrants with skills in short supply in destination
countries (for example, in health care), and on highly skilled migrants and students,
although low-
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Migrant labourers weed crops in Colorado.
Circular Migrants Growing in Number
There are also increasing numbers of what are called circular migrants. These are people who maintain homes in two or more locations and move among them to take advantage of temporary benefits.
Canadians, of course, have wide experience of this in the so-
Other circular migrants often hold multiple citizenships. In June 2008, The Economist reported that “Australia reckons 30,000 people hold both Australian and Hong Kong passports. Canada estimates that 220,000 Canadians live in Hong Kong.”
They reside permanently in Hong Kong and only visit Australia/Canada occasionally
to enjoy the benefits of democracy, government-
Push and Pull Stimuli for Migration
Many factors cause people to move from one place to another; some are positive and some are negative.
In 1966, University of Pennsylvania population expert Everett S. Lee codified the influences in his publication A Theory of Migration. He divided the reasons why people move into two categories – push and pull.
Push factors include: shortage of jobs, lack of opportunity, poor living conditions,
desertification, drought/famine, political persecution, poor or non-
Pull factors include: job prospects, improved living conditions, religious and political freedom, enjoyment, education, good health care, pleasant climate, personal security, family ties, improved marital opportunities, growing industry.
Those factors are universal and alone, or in combination, are why some people leave their homes and family roots to live elsewhere.
Sources
“World Migration Report 2010 -
“History of International Migration.” Dr. Marlou Schrover, Leiden University, May 5, 2008.
“Jason Kenney’s Disposable Workforce of Temporary Foreign Labour.” Usman Mushtaq, Rabble.ca, July 8, 2010.
“Thou Shalt Have no Other.” The Economist, June 5, 2008.
“A Theory of Migration.” Everett S. Lee, Demography, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1966).
© Canada and the World, January 2012
All rights reserved
RAVENSTEIN’S LAWS
Ernst Ravenstein was a British geographer of German origin. In 1885, he published a paper in the Journal of the Statistical Society that created a bit of a stir.
He set out seven laws of migration in an attempt to explain the movement of people within and among countries.
After studying U.K. Census data from 1871 and 1881 he put forward his Seven Laws of Migration:
1. Most migrants only proceed a short distance, and toward centres of absorption;
2. As migrants move toward absorption centres, they leave “gaps” that are filled up by migrants from more remote districts, creating migration flows that reach to “the most remote corner of the kingdom;”
3. The process of dispersion (losing population) is inverse to that of absorption (gaining population);
4. Each main current of migration produces a compensating counter-
5. Migrants proceeding long distances generally go by preference to one of the great centres of commerce or industry;
6. The natives of towns are less migratory than those of the rural parts of the country; and,
7. Females are more migratory than males.
His laws are still used today by people studying migration patterns. There have some additions to them such as families are less likely to move internationally than young adults.
In one of the biggest forced migrations of all time, millions of Africans were captured and transported to the Americas between 1450 and 1850 during the Atlantic Slave Trade.
According to the BBC, “The exact numbers of Africans shipped overseas…are hotly debated
-
Our early ancestors migrated in search of food.
As the last Ice Age retreated, starting 15,000 to 13,000 years ago, people followed behind.
As the ground warmed up and grazing herds of wild animals moved in so did the humans who lived off the caribou, bison, and antelopes.
That’s how Canada’s First Nations came to occupy the land. About 10,000 years ago animals were domesticated and crops were planted.
Stable societies that were no longer nomadic developed and people spread more slowly across the landscape.