Come From Away: Internal Migration and Nativist Attitudes in Canada

Opposition to internal migration is widespread but far less studied than attitudes toward international migration. Why are some individuals opposed to the relocation of fellow citizens within their own country? Using an original survey of 4,052 respondents in Canada, we develop an index of internal-migration nativism (α = 0.78) and analyze its correlates. We find that opposition to internal migration exists in Canada, albeit at lower levels than opposition toward international migrants. Opposition is strongest among individuals with pronounced regional identities and attachments to subnational units, and, unexpectedly, among those who report lower levels of economic anxiety. We then explore factors associated with individual and subnational variations in nativist attitudes. By introducing a within-country measure of nativist attitudes in a decentralized federal context, this study opens new avenues for research on opposition to human mobility across regions and territorial scales.