Interregional migration in Québec
Migration within Québec was higher in 2020-2021 than in previous years. These movements resulted in increased migration losses for large centres, particularly Montréal (-48,300 people). This was its largest deficit since data became available (2001-2002). Conversely, several regions saw their interregional migration gains increase significantly over the past year. This was the case for Laurentides, Lanaudière, Estrie, Mauricie, Centre-du-Québec, Chaudière-Appalaches, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Bas-Saint-Laurent, and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean. These trends were already evident in the data for the past few years, but they were amplified in 2020-2021.
This bulletin presents the results of interregional migratory exchanges for each of Québec’s 17 administrative regions in 2020-2021. It also presents major trends at the regional county municipality (RCM) level. The 2020-2021 internal migration report is the first to be fully included within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which informs the interpretation of the results.