Interregional migrations in Quebec has lowered
Posted March 21, 2024 3:31 pm.
The end of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected interregional migration in Quebec, which fell by 15.4 per cent between July 1 2022, and July 1 2023 according to a report published Thursday by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).
According to the ISQ, this decline put an end to the influx in interregional migration which had been fueled by the fact that many people left the major centres during the pandemic.
Interregional migration was at its lowest from 2022-2033 since the data was first collected in 2001‒2002.
The city of Montreal lost 25,600 people in its migratory exchanges with other regions in 2022-2023.
However, in 2020-2021, Montreal lost 48,300 people, the largest amount in nearly twenty years, but other regions had positive increases.
Lanaudière achieved net gains of 6,100 people.
However, the growth in these two regions has declined since 2020-2021, due to a drop in the number of newcomers from other regions.
Additionally, Estrie benefited from record gains in 2020-2021, but its balance of 3,650 people in 2022-2023 remained one of the highest records recorded.
There are several regions with the third or fourth largest results since 2001-2002, which is a trend that was being observed before the pandemic.
Those regions include Mauricie, Centre-du-Québec, Chaudière-Appalaches, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
The interregional migratory exchanges generated smaller gains for the Capitale-Nationale and Montérégie the last year.
Montérégie experienced the lowest gains in 2022-2023, which hasn’t been seen since the early 2000’s.
Laval and Outaouais also had small loses in 2022-2023.
The three other regions who experienced a deficit are: Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord and Nord-du-Québec, where balances have been negative for many years.
The ISQ added in its report that the Municipalité Régionale de Comté (MRC), where the largest urban centers are located, all presented a negative internal migration balance in 2022-2023.
-This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews.
