Canada's economy received a huge boost last year due to high migration from the eastern to western provinces, according to a study.
A new study by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, due to be released today, found that migration contributed more than $2 billion to the economy last year.
Migration from province to province also contributed to the national economy, with those provinces that experienced increases to in-migration showing gains that far exceeded those provinces with overall out-migration, The Globe and Mail reported ahead of the study's release.
"The [numbers] show that there's been a massive increase in the gains, both from productivity and from employment in the past few years," co-author Andrew Sharpe told The Globe. "Labour flexibility and mobility are paying off in terms of output."
The study delved into the effects of migration on Canada's economy over nearly the past two decades.
It found that migration had little impact on the economy's productivity or output for most of those years, but that the trend began to change with the commodities boom in Western Canada.
That boom has become an engine for migration to Alberta and B.C., which has in part increased the economic impact for those provinces and for the country overall, according to the study.
In 2006, migration resulted in a 5.8 per cent boost to the country's gross domestic product-- more than double the average annual gain of 2.6 per cent over the decade, according to the study.
The study found that those who migrated from one province to another experienced earnings gains of 9.4 per cent in two years. Those who stayed in their home provinces saw gains of just 4.8 per cent, according to the study.
Overall, Canada's economy benefits in part because migration to the West provides jobs to unemployed people from the East.
And a boost comes from the fact that migrants typically move from low-productivity provinces to high-productivity provinces.
Alberta saw its economic output jump by $4.6 billion last year -- following growth each year of the decade -- while B.C.'s output grew by $238.4 million.
Ontario lost $1.4 billion due to migration out of the province, the study found.
Overall, the study found provinces that had net in-migration saw their economic productivity rise, while those with net out-migration saw very little in gains.
