Demographic Documents
Why do people move within Canada? A study on the reasons for internal migration and mobility using the Canadian Housing Survey

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank many Statistics Canada colleagues for their contribution to this study. The article benefited from comments, feedback and advice from Julien Bérard-Chagnon, Patrice Dion, Zheren Hu, Laurent Martel, David McNamee and Jeff Randle.

Highlights

• According to the 2022 Canadian Housing Survey, one-third (33.3%) of households reported moving to their current residence within the past five years.
• Upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling was the most common reason reported by households that moved within the past five years, cited by one in four moving households (25.3%).
• Among households that moved across provinces, employment (42.5%) was the reason cited most often, followed by wanting to be closer to family (27.6%). In contrast, 4.5% of these households reported moving to upgrade to a larger or better-quality dwelling.
• Movements within the same province but to a different municipality showed patterns that resembled aspects of interprovincial migrations and moves within the same municipality, further supporting the relevance of distance in a household’s decision to move.
• Reasons for moving also varied by age of the reference person, and further differences emerged when distinguishing intraprovincial and interprovincial moves.
• Findings suggest that in addition to the motivation to improve housing conditions and quality of life, various life events and stages of life can influence a household’s decision to move.

1. Introduction

While immigrants and non-permanent residents have been the key drivers of population growth in Canada, internal migration continues to have a non-negligible influence on the population and age–gender structure of regions at the subnational level. The 2021 Census of Population found that over 4 million people—more than 11% of the population—were living in a different place of residence within the country than one year earlier (Statistics Canada, 2023a). The population of certain subprovincial regions, such as those in rural or less-populated areas, is often more affected by internal than by international migration (Statistics Canada, 2025).

Detailed, high-quality statistics on internal migration are available from sources such as the Demographic Estimates Program (DEP) and the census, allowing researchers and policy makers to monitor trends in internal migration in Canada. However, the causes behind the trends are typically hypothesized or inferred based on the characteristics of the movers, the place of origin and the destination, as information on the reasons for migration is often not directly available. Existing literature covers the subject using data from other countries; however, studies based on self-reported data in Canada appear to be limited.

This article presents a current overview of the commonly reported reasons why households move from one place to another within Canada, based on information collected in the 2022 Canadian Housing Survey (CHS). The study seeks to build on existing research on migration and mobility by taking advantage of self-reported Canadian data on the reasons for moving. The findings generally align with those in the existing literature and suggest that in addition to the general desire to improve housing conditions and quality of life, various life events and stages of life can influence the decision to move.

To complement some of the succinct information previously released by Statistics Canada (e.g., the StatsCAN Plus articles Canadians on the move and Moving in Canada: The good, the bad and the ugly), additional emphasis was placed on studying the reasons cited among households that moved interprovincially (i.e., to another province or territory) and intraprovincially (i.e., within a province). Other characteristics and breakdowns are presented, and comparisons with past cycles of the CHS are provided to identify any changes over time.

The infographic “Why do people move in Canada?” released alongside this report, illustrates some notable findings in a convenient format.

2. Data sources, methods and definitions

2.1 Data sources

The study uses data obtained from the CHS, which collects information about housing needs and experiences from a sample of Canadian households. The information regarding housing moves, particularly households’ self-identified reasons for moving from their previous residence, is of great interest, as the availability of such data is limited. Further information on the CHS is provided in Appendix A.

The reference person (or the survey respondent) for the CHS is the individual with the most knowledge of the household’s housing situation and is not selected randomly.

The question on reasons for moving is presented to survey respondents in a “select-all-that-apply” format, where they can choose multiple reasons from a predetermined list, along with an option to select “Other” and specify another reason. The question is specifically regarding the most recent housing move. For the 2022 CHS questionnaire, see Questionnaire(s) and Reporting guide(s) – Canadian Housing Survey, 2022.

The analysis in this article includes only moves that occurred within five years of the survey.

2.2 Methodology

Because the main objective of the study was to highlight the most common reasons cited by households for moving from their previous residence, the analysis was based mainly on descriptive statistics.

Proportions were calculated based on the number of weighted households to allow comparisons across reasons and characteristics. For statistics pertaining to reasons for moving, note that the proportions of moving households do not sum to 100%, as households could identify multiple reasons for moving.

As reasons for moving were collected only from the reference person, it was assumed that the cited reasons were representative of the household. Further information is provided in Section 8 (Challenges and limitations of the study).

Measures of sampling variability were calculated using the CHS bootstrap weights, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as a relatively simple and conservative test of statistical significance. Further statistical tests were performed where applicable. In this study, the main use cases for statistical tests were comparisons across different reasons for moving and comparisons of the same reason across different CHS cycles. CIs for selected tables are provided in Appendix C.

2.3 Concepts and definitions

In this study, the definitions and concepts involving mobility, movements and migration vary slightly from those used in the census and the DEP (Statistics Canada, 2023b; Statistics Canada, 2015). In the context of population growth in the DEP, people who changed their usual place of residence within a subprovincial area are considered non-migrants and excluded from intraprovincial migration, in part because this group has no effect on the population change of the area. However, because the scope of this study is wider and includes all movers, those who moved within the same city or municipality are considered intraprovincial movers (ITMs). The terms “move” and “movement” are often used for migration to better distinguish the concepts.

The reference person refers to the survey respondent, who is the household member with the most knowledge of the household’s housing situation.

The reference person’s generation is based on their year of birth. The generations in this article are from Statistics Canada (2022) and are as follows:

• greatest generation: people born before 1928 (aged 95 or older in 2022)
• interwar generation: people born between 1928 and 1945 (aged 77 to 94 in 2022)
• baby boomer generation: people born between 1946 and 1965 (aged 57 to 76 in 2022)
• Generation X: people born between 1966 and 1980 (aged 42 to 56 in 2022)
• Generation Y (millennials): people born between 1981 and 1996 (aged 26 to 41 in 2022)
• Generation Z: people born between 1997 and 2012 (aged 10 to 25 in 2022)
• Generation Alpha: people born after 2013 (aged 9 or younger in 2022).

The interwar and greatest generations were combined in the study because of their small sample sizes, and Generation Alpha was excluded because of its young age. The ages shown above are as of 2022, the reference year of the 2022 CHS.

A moving household or mover is a household that reported previously living in a different residence in the five years leading up to the survey. Note that the household composition may have changed when moving to the current residence.

A non-moving household or non-mover, in contrast, is a household that reported living in the same place of residence in the five years leading up to the survey.

Interprovincial movers (IPMs) are moving households that lived in a residence in a province that is different from the province of their current residence.

Intraprovincial movers (ITMs) are moving households that lived in a residence in the same province as their current residence. This varies from the definition of intraprovincial migration in the census and the DEP, where moves within a given subprovincial area (depending on the level of geography) are excluded.

Among ITMs, households with a previous residence within the same city, town, village, township, municipality or Indian reserve are considered movers within the same city or municipality. In contrast, movers to a different city or municipality are households with a previous residence in a different city, town, village, township, municipality or Indian reserve.

3. Distribution of movers in Canada by movement type

Before examining the reasons for moving, the distribution of households by movement type is presented to provide initial context. According to the 2022 cycle of the CHS, one-third (33.3%) of households reported moving to their current residence within the past five years (Table 1). Slightly more than 1 in 20 movers (5.6%) migrated to a different province, while the remaining 94.4% moved within the province. Among the households that moved within the province, roughly two-thirds moved within the same municipality (65.8%).

As most movements were intraprovincial, and even within the same municipality, the top reasons cited by moving households overall were predominantly influenced by these movers. The next section therefore presents the overall results first, then examines motivations by movement type.

4. Households’ reasons for moving based on movement type

Upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling was the most frequently cited reason among households that moved within the past five years

Among the list of reasons, upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling was the most frequently cited reason among all moving households, with one in four households (25.3%) stating it as one of their reasons for moving within the last five years. Other frequently cited reasons included becoming a homeowner (19.2%) and wanting to be in a more desirable neighbourhood (13.5%) (See Table 2).

Family-related reasons were also cited by moving households, although not as frequently as some housing-related reasons. Family-related reasons included experiencing a change in household or family size (13.5%), forming one’s own household (10.9%) and wanting to be closer to family (9.0%).

When compared with distributions by movement type, the reasons cited most often were similar to those of ITMs and movers within the same municipality. As seen in other studies, shorter-distance moves are generally housing related (Clark & Maas, 2015; Thomas, Gillespie, & Lomax, 2019), and movers in Canada also follow this trend. As total movers were primarily composed of households that moved within the same municipality, similar results were expected.

The differences observed in these overall patterns are highlighted in the following subsections, namely for IPMs and those who moved to a different municipality within a given province.

Employment was the most frequently cited reason among households that moved across provinces

When broken down by movement type, that is, when distinguishing IPMs (moved to another province or territory) and ITMs (moved within a province or territory), the top reasons identified by households began to vary. Given that most movers were ITMs, it was expected that their cited reasons would closely resemble those of total movers (Table 2).

Households that moved interprovincially often cited employment (42.5%) and wanting to be closer to family (27.6%) as reasons for moving. These findings are consistent with studies from other countries that have found that longer-distance moves are typically associated with employment, but that family-related reasons are also often involved (Thomas, 2019; Thomas, Gillespie, & Lomax, 2019).

In contrast, reasons that were popular among ITMs were cited noticeably less often among IPMs. Among households that moved across provinces, 4.5% reported upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling, compared with 26.6% of households that moved within the province. Similarly, becoming a homeowner (4.1%), experiencing a change in household or family size (4.9%) and wanting to be in a more desirable neighbourhood (8.6%) were cited relatively less often among IPM households.

As longer-distance moves are typically driven by factors or needs that cannot be met in one’s immediate area, it is reasonable to observe employment and proximity to family as more common reasons than those related to housing. Housing needs can often be met within the province, or even within the same municipality, and the disincentives associated with leaving established social networks and familiar areas may also play a role.

Based on the findings above, there is a clear and noticeable difference in the motivations to move between IPMs and ITMs.

Even when remaining within a province, differences arise between households that leave and those that remain in their original municipality

Looking strictly at ITMs, differences were observed between households that moved within the city or municipality and those that moved to a different area. The top reason for moving to a different municipality was to become a homeowner (22.1%), followed by upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling (20.6%). Although upgrading to a larger or better dwelling was among the top reasons, it was less common among households that moved to a different city than among those that remained in the same municipality (29.7%).

Notably, a larger proportion of intercity movers (15.4%) cited employment as a reason, compared with the relatively lower proportion among those who moved within the same municipality (2.8%). Wanting to be closer to family was also cited more often among intercity movers than among those who moved within the same municipality (14.3% versus 4.6%), as was reducing commuting time (12.4% versus 5.7%).

Movements to a different municipality within the same province resembled aspects of interprovincial moves and movements within the same city. This suggests that motivations for moving varied by distance of the move and aligns with findings from other studies on migration and mobility (Niedomysl, 2011; Clark & Maas, 2015; Thomas, Gillespie, & Lomax, 2019).

5. Households’ reasons for moving by region of residence

Regional differences in reasons for moving were also examined, specifically for the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia.

In general, the proportions of moving households that identified each reason for moving were similar across different regions in Canada. The top four reasons overall in Canada (i.e., upgrading to bigger or better housing, becoming a homeowner, moving to a more desirable neighbourhood and experiencing a change in household size) were typically among the top reasons identified by households in each region. This is the case when looking at the region of residence before the most recent move and the region of residence following the move (see Appendix B.1 ).

Attempts were made to study variations in the reasons for moving among IPMs based on specific combinations of regions of origin and destination, as such information would be of great interest and offer further insight into internal movement trends. However, the sample sizes became too small for reasonable analysis, and this information is therefore not presented.

6. Reasons for moving based on movers’ characteristics

Top reasons for moving varied by generation of the reference person, reflecting movements associated with different stages of life

Aside from movement type, some notable differences were observed when analyzing movers in Canada based on the age of the reference person. In this section, the reasons for moving were analyzed using birth generations instead of age groups to highlight the patterns observed between moving and different stages of life. (See Section 2.3 for the definitions)

When looking at households that moved to another province (Table 3), 61.1% of reference people in Generation Z reported school as a reason, while millennials (59.1%) and Generation X (51.6%) often cited employment. The most common reason for moving for older generations such as baby boomers (48.1%) and the interwar and greatest generations (76.7%) was wanting to be closer to family. These differences are consistent with existing literature, such as Thomas (2019), who found that migrants citing reasons related to family were more likely to be older, while younger migrants tended to migrate for reasons related to employment and education.

For ITMs (Table 4), the most common reason for moving among Generation Z (19.3%), millennials (32.2%) and Generation X (30.0%) was to upgrade to a larger or better-quality dwelling. Other common reasons included forming one’s own household among Generation Z (18.5%) and becoming a homeowner among millennials (30.4%). As expected, housing and household-related reasons are common among younger to middle-aged ITMs.

In contrast, reducing housing costs was frequently reported among baby boomers (21.5%) and the interwar and greatest generations (33.7%), while the latter also cited personal health reasons (33.9%). These motivations show the different context and needs of older movers, reflecting their later stage of life.

For IPMs and ITMs, overall patterns associated with age and reasons for moving were observed. Ages, corresponding to different stages of life, reflected the reasons identified by the movers.

Life events such as new homeownership, downsizing, separation and conflict can influence decisions to move

In addition to life stages, various life events can influence a household’s decision to move. This can be observed when examining the reasons cited by movers based on housing tenure (homeowner or renter) and the marital status of the reference person.

Homeowners (36.2%) and renters (25.2%) whose homeownership status remained unchanged after moving most frequently cited upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling as the reason for moving. Moreover, while less frequently reported by households in other groups, 10.8% of renters who remained renters cited issues with their previous landlord or tenants as a reason, while 9.7% indicated that they were forced to move (see Appendix B.2 ).

Becoming a homeowner (76.8%) was the most common reason for moving among renters who transitioned to homeownership, while owners who transitioned to renting most often cited reducing housing costs (27.8%), a change in household size (22.1%), wanting to be closer to family (14.5%) and personal health reasons (13.5%). Because transitioning from homeownership to renting is often associated with a later stage of life, the reasons cited overlap with those commonly reported by older movers.

In terms of the marital status of reference people, those who were separated tended to cite a change in household size, with 34% of households citing this as one of the reasons for moving. Although the CHS does not directly capture changes in marital status, the larger proportion of households reporting a change in household size as a reason among this group of movers suggests separation as an influence on a household’s decision to move.^Note 

Reference people who were widowed tended to cite reasons such as reducing housing costs (31.3%) and personal health (23.5%) (see Appendix B.2 ). These reasons coincide with aging, and widows and widowers are more likely to be older.

In contrast, reference people who are single or married or common law most often cited upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling and becoming a homeowner as reasons for moving, aligning more closely with the overall top reasons.

7. Comparison with previous cycles of the Canadian Housing Survey

To observe changes over time, results from previous cycles of the CHS (2018 and 2021) were examined and compared with those from the 2022 CHS. Moves were again restricted to those that occurred within five years of the respective survey.

As seen in the earlier analysis, the top cited reasons varied significantly between IPMs and ITMs. The differences between these movers were observed for all three cycles of the CHS.

Employment was the top reason for moving across provinces, while wanting to be closer to family was consistently the second most frequently cited reason. For ITMs, upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling was consistently the most frequently cited reason. While becoming a homeowner, wanting to be in a more desirable neighbourhood and experiencing a change in household size were also often cited as reasons, their proportional rankings varied somewhat across CHS cycles.

When the data were analyzed by generation of the reference person, the top reasons for moving were fairly consistent across the three cycles. The top reason for moving for each generation, whether for IPMs and ITMs, remained the same across the survey cycles (see Appendix B.3). Age groups (younger than 25 years, 25 to 44 years, 45 to 64 years, and 65 years and older) were also examined and yielded similar results.

The overall similarity between the three CHS cycles indicates that the reasons for moving remained stable over the period. The top reasons for moving for IPMs and ITMs were the same across all three cycles, although proportions varied slightly. The top reason by generation and age group was also similar over time.

8. Challenges and limitations of the study

The CHS allowed for a comprehensive review of the reasons for moving identified by respondents, given its sample size and the scope of response options. However, the information collected is based on subjective reporting by the reference person. As such, response errors can occur when respondents do not correctly identify the reasons for moving. Other sources of non-sampling errors include coverage errors, response errors and processing errors, all of which are expected in surveys. Sampling error is also to be expected and is mitigated using measures of survey variance and statistical tests.

Additionally, some factors have imposed challenges to the study.

The first is regarding household representation for the reasons for moving. In the CHS, only the reference person is asked about the reasons for moving from the previous residence, and for this study, those reasons are assumed to be representative of the household. This is a reasonable assumption for typical family compositions, as the reference person is the member with the most knowledge of the household’s housing situation and therefore likely to be the head of the household. However, this assumption may not necessarily hold for households composed of multiple unattached individuals, particularly if those individuals previously lived in different residences.

Another factor to consider is the coverage of the moves. Details of only the most recent move are collected in the survey, and no information is available on any additional moves that occurred within the timespan.

As the information on reasons for moving was collected using a “select-all-that-apply” question format, there is no indication of the weight or the relative influence of each reason on the decision to move. Each cited reason likely carries a different level of influence on the motivation to move; however, this information is not available for the study, and the resulting comparisons assume that all cited reasons hold an equal amount of influence.

Lastly, the “other” reason was not recoded in the 2022 CHS. For the 2021 and 2018 cycles, the write-in responses were reviewed and reassigned to the listed reasons in the questionnaire, where applicable. This difference imposed challenges when comparing the 2022 CHS results with those from the previous two cycles; therefore, comparisons were made at a high level and with caution.

9. Conclusion

This article provides a current overview on the reasons households move from their usual place of residence within Canada, with analysis by various characteristics. The study used a data source containing information provided directly by survey respondents in Canada on their reasons for moving.

Overall, the most frequently cited reason for moving was to upgrade to a larger or better-quality dwelling. However, the top reasons varied depending on the type of move, particularly between IPMs and ITMs. IPMs most often cited employment as their reason, while ITMs primarily cited upgrading to a larger or better-quality dwelling.

Other findings included variations among those belonging to different generations, with results corresponding to individuals’ life stages at the time of the move. Once again, the most common reasons for moving varied between IPMs and ITMs. Younger movers tended to move interprovincially for school or employment, while older movers more often wanted to be closer to family. Among ITMs, younger to working-age movers tended to move primarily for a larger or better-quality dwelling, while older movers tended to predominantly move to reduce costs and for personal health reasons.

In addition to the pursuit of better housing and motivations related to different stages of life, life events such as conflict, separation and downsizing were also found to drive household movements. Overall, the findings were generally consistent with studies on migration and mobility from other countries, supporting the notion that similar patterns and trends are observed in Canada.

Lastly, changes to reasons for moving over time were examined, and the top reasons remained consistent across the three CHS cycles (2018, 2021 and 2022), even when considering IPMs and ITMs separately.

This study presents opportunities for further research. Regression analysis, for example, could be used to further isolate the relationships between the various household characteristics and the reasons for moving. For instance, the influence of generational cohorts could be studied further by controlling for the age of the reference person. However, such analyses were beyond the scope of this study, as its primary goal was to provide a current portrait of the reasons households move within Canada.

With the upcoming release of the 2024 CHS, future studies to expand the scope and depth of research would provide further insight into the reasons behind internal migration and mobility, particularly for the post-COVID-19-pandemic period, when remote and hybrid work has become more common and may influence migration decisions.

Appendix A: Additional information on the Canadian Housing Survey

The Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) provides information on how Canadians feel about their housing and how housing affects them. Information in the survey includes core housing need; dwelling characteristics and housing tenure; perceptions of economic hardship from housing costs; support and childcare payments; dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction; perceptions of neighbourhood issues and safety; housing moves, including forced moves; community engagement; life and community satisfaction; self-assessed health; experiences with homelessness; sociodemographic characteristics; and access to transportation.

Data have been released from three survey cycles at the time of writing. The collection for the 2022 CHS took place from October 31, 2022, to March 31, 2023, in the 10 provinces, with a sample size of 38,657 households. The overall response rate for the 2022 CHS was 47%.

Collection for the 2021 CHS took place from January 4 to June 2, 2021, for the 10 provinces and three territorial capitals, and collection for the 2018 CHS was from November 2018 to March 2019 for all provinces and territories. The sample size of the 2021 cycle was 40,988 households, with a 47% response rate, and the sample size of the 2018 cycle was 65,377 households, with a 50% response rate.

The reference person for the CHS is the individual with the most knowledge of the household’s housing situation and is not selected randomly. Reasons for moving are collected only for the most recent housing move.

Appendix B: Supplementary data tables

B.1 Reasons for moving by region of origin and region of destination

B.2 Reasons for moving by housing tenure and marital status

B.3 Reasons for moving by generation of the reference person, 2018 and 2021

Appendix C: Supplementary tables with 95% confidence intervals

References

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