MIGRATION IN CANADA YUKON TERRITORY – MIDDLE SCHOOL
Migration in Canada
Lesson Overview:
Much of the migration of people in Canada occurs internally. There are many reasons why people move from one part of the country to another. The majority of the population of Canada lives in cities or large towns. For example, most people in the Yukon choose to live in the city of Whitehorse. Most people choose to live in cities because they offer more opportunities for employment, education, and other services. In this lesson students will explore the reasons why people migrate to different parts of Canada and why more people move to urban centres from rural areas.
Grade Level:
Grade 6
Time Required:
One hour
Curriculum Connection (Province and course):
Yukon – (British Columbia curriculum) Social Studies 6
Link to Canadian National Geography Standards:
Essential Element #4: Human Systems
- Types and patterns of human settlement
- Human migration patterns
- Cities as providers of goods and services
- Population density, distribution and growth rates
Geographic Skill #4: Analyzing Geographic Information
- Use statistics and other quantitative techniques to evaluate geographic information.
Geographic Skill #5: Answering Geographic Questions
- Make generalizations and assess their validity.
Link to Statistics Canada data source:
Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required:
- Attached student activity sheet (answers are included on the last page)
Main Objective:
The primary goal of the lesson is for students to learn that most migration occurs internally. They will be introduced to the reasons why people move from one part of the country to another and from rural areas to urban areas.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Understand the reasons people migrate to cities from rural areas
- Identify the types of people that move to cities or rural areas
- Understand the factors that cause people to move around within the country
- Explain how rural places differ from urban places
The Lesson:
Teacher Activity / Student ActivityIntroduction / Ask students why they live in their community.
Write their answers on the board. / Respond to questions.
Lesson Development / Explain the difference between rural and urban (migration) in detail. Ask students to give examples of each.
Read the first part of the handout.
Ask students to analyze the two pictures and compare and contrast them.
Continue reading; explain push and pull factors.
Discuss some of the reasons young people and immigrants move to cities while seniors move to rural areas. / Think of examples of rural regions and city names.
Follow along with the reading.
Respond and analyze the pictures.
Conclusion / Assign questions for homework. Answers to the questions can be discussed next class to connect to a follow up lesson or handed in for marks. / Complete all questions for homework.
Lesson Extension:
Follow-up lessons could be on mapping the number of internal migrants moving to different provinces.
Assessment of Student Learning:
Teachers can collect the questions for marks.
Rural to Urban Migration
Read the following information on rural to urban migration patterns and complete the following questions and diagram.
Canada is often divided into two regions known as the heartland and the hinterland. The heartland of Canada would be its cities located in the southern parts of Canada, especially the southern regions in Quebec and Ontario; while the hinterland refers to the rural areas of the country. Urban areas refer to cities of at least 50,000 people, while rural means areas in the countryside, small villages or towns.
Urban and rural areas are so different and moving from one location to another must mean a difficult period of adjustment for people. But this hasn’t stopped people moving from smaller communities in the countryside to major cities. There are many reasons why people move from one area to another. Reasons that cause one to leave an area are called push factors; while reasons that make you want to move to an area are called pull factors. The main reasons people move have to do with having more choices in urban areas. Cities have more choice for jobs, education and other facilities. Cities have more hospitals, schools, universities, shopping centres and entertainment centres. Small rural towns often depend on one resource such as forestry for most of the jobs. If a mill shuts down, it is difficult for people to find new jobs in the same industry. Cities have a variety of jobs and careers for people to pick from.
As towns lose people, they end up having to close schools and businesses because there are not enough people. As doctors and other professionals move to cities, there are even less choices for townspeople. This rapid movement of people to cities also causes problems in urban areas too. As cities grow and expand rapidly, pollution and smog from vehicles increases and the cost of housing and living in cities increases. As cities grow, they threaten wetlands and other sensitive ecosystems such as salmon spawning streams. Traffic and increasing population density also has a negative effect on the quality of life in cities.
Between 1996 and 2001, a large number of young people aged 15 to 29 moved to Canada’s three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. In total, these cities gained 67,400 more youth. On the other hand, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver lost seniors aged 65 and over during this five year period as they chose to move to smaller cities or rural areas.
Of all the immigrants who came to Canada in the 1990s, 73% settled in Canada’s three largest cities.
Source:
Questions
1.Define the following terms:
Urban:
Rural:
Push Factors:
Pull Factors:
2.What are the benefits to living in a rural area? What are the disadvantages?
______
3.What are some of the advantages of living in urban areas? What are the disadvantages?
______
- Canada’s three largest cities are: ______
______
5.Why do you think most immigrants move to large cities? ______
6. Would you prefer to live in a city or a small town? Explain why. ______
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (1
Statistics Canada (
MIGRATION IN CANADAYUKON TERRITORY – MIDDLE SCHOOL
7. On the arrows below, write the reasons people leave towns to migrate to cities.
Pictures from MS Clip Art
Answers:
1.Urban: cities of at least 50 000 people
Rural: areas in the countryside in small villages or towns
Push Factors: Reasons that cause one to leave an area
Pull Factors: reasons that make you want to move to an area
2.Answers will vary. Slower pace, green space, clear open spaces, no traffic, lots of room to play, big back yards. Disadvantages: no malls, no facilities, no sports centres, less job options etc
3. Answers will vary: a lot to do, more and different kinds of jobs, universities, malls, sports facilities, more hospitals. Disadvantages: crowded, dirty, congested, increased pollution, traffic, no green space or big back yards, little room to play
4.Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver
5.More job opportunities, connection to a well established cultural community
6.Answers will vary
7. Less jobs in towns, less variety of occupations in towns, less services, cities have more facilities, universities, access to specialist care in hospitals, etc
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (1
Statistics Canada (