Discover Migration Stories: Why People Move and How They Shape Canada

A migration story is the story of why and how a person or family moved from one place to live in another place. When you learn about Migration Stories, you discover that people all over the world have moved for many different reasons throughout history. Every migration story is unique and important.

You may already know about Where People Live and how communities form in different places. Migration is one of the biggest reasons why communities look the way they do today.

When people decide to move, two kinds of reasons are usually involved. A push factor is a difficult problem that pushes someone away from their home, such as war, poverty, drought, or lack of food. A pull factor is something positive that attracts or pulls people toward a new place, like safety, good jobs, freedom, or family already living there.

For example, many Irish families left Ireland in the 1840s because a terrible potato famine destroyed their food supply that was a push factor. Canada's offer of free land on the prairies was a pull factor that attracted many European settlers in the early 1900s.

Canada is home to many different groups of people who came from different places and for different reasons. An immigrant is a person who leaves their home country and moves to a new country, like Canada, to live permanently. A refugee is a person who was forced to flee their home country because of war, danger, or persecution they did not choose to leave for positive reasons.

Indigenous peoples including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit have lived on the land now called Canada for thousands of years, long before any European settlers arrived. You can learn more about their history through Indigenous Communities.

People also move within Canada. An internal migrant is someone who moves from one province or territory to another, like moving from Manitoba to Alberta for work. Seasonal migration happens when people move temporarily at certain times of year, often to follow agricultural work.

Many groups of people have migration stories connected to Canada. In the 1880s, thousands of Chinese workers came to British Columbia to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway under very dangerous conditions. Ukrainian settlers brought their language, food like perogies, and farming skills to the prairies in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Scottish and Irish families came to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in the 1800s to escape poverty and find land to farm.

These stories connect to Immigration History and show how newcomers helped build the country you live in today. You can also explore Early Communities to see how the first settlements formed.

When people migrate, they bring their languages, foods, traditions, and skills with them. This is how Canada became such a diverse and rich country. Newcomers adapt to their new home by learning new customs and ways of life, while also keeping their own cultural identity.

Learning about Cultural Diversity in Communities helps you understand how migration creates the mix of cultures you see around you. You can also connect this to Cultural Interactions to see how different groups share and learn from each other.

Migration: Migration means moving from one place to settle and live in another place. Simply visiting somewhere does not count as migration you must be moving your home.

Push Factor: A push factor is a difficult problem that pushes or forces someone to leave their home, such as war, drought, poverty, or lack of food.

Pull Factor: A pull factor is something positive and attractive about a new place that draws people toward it, like safety, good jobs, freedom, or education.

Immigrant: An immigrant is a person who leaves their home country and moves to a new country, like Canada, to live there permanently.

Refugee: A refugee is a person who was forced to flee their home country because of war, violence, or serious danger.

Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous peoples including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit are the original inhabitants of Canada who have lived here for thousands of years before European contact.

Internal Migration: Internal migration is when a person moves within the same country, such as from one Canadian province to another, without crossing an international border.

International Migration: International migration is when a person moves from one country to a completely different country, crossing a national border.

Seasonal Migration: Seasonal migration is when people move temporarily at certain times of year, often to follow work like harvesting crops, and then move again when the season changes.

Country of Origin: Your country of origin is the country where you were born or originally lived before moving somewhere new.

Settlement: A settlement is a place where a group of people moved to and established homes and a community, such as early European settlements in Canada.

Adapt: To adapt means to learn new customs and ways of life in your new community, while often keeping your own cultural identity too.

Community: A community is a group of people who share a place, culture, language, or common background and support one another.

Newcomer: A newcomer is a person who has recently arrived in a new country or community and is beginning to build their life there.

You can find migration stories all around you. Ask a family member or neighbour if they have a migration story to share. You might discover that someone in your own family moved from another province or country, just like the Ukrainian families who settled on the prairies or the Irish families who came to Atlantic Canada.

Listening to migration stories with kindness and curiosity helps you build respect for others' experiences. This connects to what you will learn in Oral Traditions Stories and Histories Passed Through Generations stories passed down through families are a powerful way to keep history alive.

You can also think about Human Geography and how the movement of people has shaped the places and regions of Canada over time.

You have already learned important ideas that connect to migration stories. Your knowledge of World Maps and Locations helps you understand where people are moving from and to. Understanding Links Between Communities shows you how places are connected through the movement of people.

Your learning about Family Customs and Maintaining Traditions helps you understand why migrants bring their culture with them. Knowing about Learning from the Past and Early Contact History gives you the historical background to understand why migration happened in Canada.

You also build on your understanding of Basic Human Rights when you think about why refugees flee danger and why the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects everyone living in Canada. Your study of Local Heritage and Understanding Other Places rounds out your foundation for exploring migration.

Migration stories connect to many other important topics you will explore. Early Communities shows you how the first groups of people settled in different parts of Canada, many of them through migration. Human Geography helps you understand how people and their movements shape the land and regions around them.

You will explore Interaction Effects to see what happens when different groups of people meet and live together. Indigenous Communities deepens your understanding of the peoples who have always called Canada home. Oral Traditions Stories and Histories Passed Through Generations connects to how migration stories are remembered and shared.

Community Development shows you how communities grow and change because of migration. Regional Characteristics and Geographic Features help you understand why people chose to settle in certain places. Basic Rights and Freedoms connects to the protections that all people in Canada have, including newcomers.

Family Organization Roles and Structure Within Households helps you see how migration affects families and their roles. Understanding Maps gives you the geographic tools to trace migration routes and understand where people came from.

This topic prepares you for more advanced learning in Immigration History, European and American Settlement Patterns and Migration, and First Peoples Forced Relocation and Resettlement. You will also be ready to explore Human Settlement Patterns and Distribution, Cultural Interactions, First Peoples and Newcomers, Cultural and Linguistic Impact, Historical Development of Local Communities, Community Stories, Canadian History, and Global Connections.