Counting Migrants and Migrations: Comparing Lifetime and Fixed-Interval Return and Onward Migration

Lifetime measures of return and onward migration that use place of birth may be rather arbitrary, as they may not capture the essence of “home” region and therefore may not adequately represent ties to place, including where an individual grew up or went to school. The recent availability of census data that include information on place of residence five years prior to the census, one year prior, and at the time of the census allow an alternative definition of return and onward migration based upon fixed-interval data. Employing data from the 1996 Canadian census, in this paper I first compare and examine the incidence, composition, and spatial patterns and explanations of return and onward migration through measures of lifetime and fixed-interval data. I then suggest a typology of return migration. Findings indicate that although both measures result in similar patterns and demographic effects, fixed-interval measures provide additional detail into the processes at work. Planned returns among younger and older adults that are most likely associated with education or employment and represent 24 percent of returns define two types of return migration. A third type is more consistent with the stereotypical image of a “failed” migration.