--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/interprovincial-migration-in-canada-implications-for-output-and-productivity-growth-1987-2014/" title: "Interprovincial Migration in Canada: Implications for Output and Productivity Growth, 1987-2014" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T12:51:24+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T12:51:24+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Alberta" - "British Columbia" - "Canada" - "GDP" - "interprovincial migration" - "labour reallocation" - "output growth" - "productivity" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "Multi-province" research_theme: - "Labour Markets" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" - "Regional Economic Development" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Interprovincial Migration in Canada: Implications for Output and Productivity Growth, 1987-2014 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/interprovincial-migration-in-canada-implications-for-output-and-productivity-growth-1987-2014/ # Interprovincial Migration in Canada: Implications for Output and Productivity Growth, 1987-2014 [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2015-19-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Tusz, Roland, Erika Rodrigues, and Matthew Calver. 2015. “Interprovincial Migration in Canada: Implications for Output and Productivity Growth, 1987-2014.” CSLS Research Report 2015-19. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/interprovincial-migration-in-canada-implications-for-output-and-productivity-growth-1987-2014/ ## Authors: - Roland Tusz Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Erika Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Matthew Calver Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2015-19 November 2015 61 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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Interprovincial migration provides significant economic benefits by reallocating labour from low-productivity regions with high unemployment to high productivity regions with low unemployment. A previous report released by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards estimated the impact of net interprovincial migration on aggregate output and productivity between 1987 and 2006. This study uses the same basic methodology to provide updated estimates, which is extended to estimate the long-term effects. We estimate that interprovincial migration raised GDP by $1.23 billion (chained 2007 dollars) in 2014, or 0.071 per cent of GDP. This may seem like a small amount, but migration flows are often persistent. We estimate that cumulative net migration flows over the 1987-2014 period increased GDP by $15.8 billion dollars (0.9 per cent of GDP) in 2014 and generated cumulative benefits of $146 billion over the 1987-2014 period. Most of these gains can be attributed to migration to Alberta and British Columbia, which are by far the largest destinations of net interprovincial migration. Un peu plus de 300 000 personnes ont migré entre les provinces canadiennes en 2014, soit 0,85 % de la population. La migration interprovinciale procure d’importants avantages économiques en réaffectant la main-d’œuvre des régions à faible productivité et à taux de chômage élevé vers des régions à forte productivité et à faible taux de chômage. Un rapport antérieur publié par le Centre d’étude des niveaux de vie avait estimé l’incidence de la migration interprovinciale nette sur la production et la productivité globales entre 1987 et 2006. Cette étude utilise la même méthodologie de base pour produire des estimations actualisées, étendues afin d’estimer les effets à long terme. Nous estimons que la migration interprovinciale a fait augmenter le PIB de 1,23 milliard de dollars (en dollars enchaînés de 2007) en 2014, soit 0,071 % du PIB. Ce montant peut sembler faible, mais les flux migratoires sont souvent persistants. Nous estimons que les flux migratoires nets cumulatifs sur la période 1987-2014 ont augmenté le PIB de 15,8 milliards de dollars (0,9 % du PIB) en 2014 et ont généré des avantages cumulatifs de 146 milliards de dollars sur la période 1987-2014. La majeure partie de ces gains est attribuable à la migration vers l’Alberta et la Colombie-Britannique, qui sont de loin les principales destinations de la migration interprovinciale nette. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2015-19-1.pdf)