Higher Education Student Migration in Canada: Interprovincial Structure and the Influence of Student Mother Tongue

Approximately ten percent of Canadian higher education students cross provincial boundaries each year to attend college or university. Despite its size and impact, the geography student migration (HESM) is not well documented in Canada. This paper analyses Statistics Canada’s Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) for academic 2016/17. Interaction matrixes are developed mapped analyse both broad geographical structure interprovincial HESM impact language, specifically mother tongue, shaping patterns. In overall picture that generates expected patterns as important variations. Ontario Quebec anchor national and, together with others, constitute exchanges amongst contiguous clusters. Unique cross-country connections also revealed by tongue further nuances still. The concludes a discussion implications this work understanding (i) migration-based integration systems, (ii) research, multi-scalar processes geographies institutional local economic policy makers.