Migration to Alberta

I’m doing some research around migrant work and public policy in Alberta for an article and book chapter. One of the books I’ve just finished is Harry Hiller’s Second Promised Land, which examines migration within Canada, with a particular focus on migrants to Alberta.

Hiller’s book examines how migrants view the migration process. This differs from much of literature, which tends to focus on migrants in aggregate and emphasizes economic motives for migration. Hiller teases out the complexities of the decision to migrant and reveals the importance of social factors in this decision.

Hiller also disaggregates migration to Alberta, by examining province-by-province patterns over time. Overall, a most helpful introduction to the phenomenon. The book focuses on the period 1996 to 2002 which touches on the beginning of the period we’re look at but the background material is most helpful.

-- Bob Barnetson