Health and Older Adult Return Migration in Canada

ABSTRACT The proportion of older adults (aged 65+) in Canada is growing rapidly. While many of these older adults will expect or desire to age in place, many will either move to “downsize” their living space, move to be closer to family for support, or move into care facilities such as long‐term care homes. However, despite significant attention to migration flows within the labor force, there has been much less attention given to migration within Canada's older adult population, especially with respect to the role of health as a determinant of migration. The addition of information on Activities of Daily Living (ADL), such as difficulty with hearing, seeing, communicating, walking, climbing stairs, bending, and learning, to the Canadian census may provide additional insights into the role of health in the migration decisions of older adults. Drawing on data from the Canadian census, this paper therefore explores the potential motivations for return migration among older adults, with specific reference to the role of Activities of Daily Living as a determinant of migration.