ABSTRACT
From what has been written about international migration to and from Canada in the late nineteenth century, this country would appear to be a peculiar and intriguing case. The commonly accepted record shows that Canada received immigrants in very large numbers yet at the same time sent emigrants to the United States, also on a very large scale. For most other participants in the “great migration” circumstances were much simpler. The United States received vast numbers of immigrants and, while some of them undoubtedly returned home, the great preponderance of the flow was inward. Some of the other destination countries, such as Argentina, may have experienced a relatively greater return flow but, for most of the destination countries, the great flow of migration was in one direction. Canada stands alone in receiving, or at least appearing to receive, large numbers of immigrants from Europe while at the same time experiencing a large outflow of migration to the United States. This is an intriguing phenomenon in itself but it also has important implications for the interpretation and analysis of migration to the United States. Models of immigration to the United States should take into account the role of Canada as a complicating intermediary. Analyses based on measured responses of migration to income or wage differentials should be consistent in their implications for flows to both North American nations.
