Differences in Migration Determinants for Linguistic Groups in Canada*

This study utilizes linguistically disaggregated region-to-region migration data between 1981 and 1986 to demonstrate that French and English speaking Canadians react differently to place attributes. A series of log transformed linear regression models suggest that the two populations differ very little in their response to traditional labor market variables but that they diverge dramatically in their response to the linguistic composition of each region. Each group prefers regions with a greater percentage of their own co-linguists, but Francophones are less sensitive than Anglophones to linguistic composition.