A Mobility Profile of City of Winnipeg Households, 1976-1981

Raj S. Gandhi is a professor of sociology at the University of Calgary.

In the past, Canadian households have displayed a tendency to move. Between 1966 and 1971, 45 per cent of all Canadians moved, and between 1971 and 1976, 48 per cent moved. Factors such as changes in place of employment, changes from renter to owner, and changes in housing preferences and needs motivated moves.

The purpose of this study was to generate a data source and produce a profile of households and their housing characteristics by mobility status that would allow conclusions to be drawn about locational and housing choices.

The methodology used was the special cross-tabulations from the 1981 Census for the City of Winnipeg. The gross data (absolute number of households) obtained from cross-tabulations have been further manipulated to produce 13 graphs and charts and 29 tabular displays of information by number of households and distributional proportions and frequencies. The conclusion raises further questions about the usefulness of the indicators of mobility and non-migrant type of mobility in the City of Winnipeg. This study is successful in producing a profile of households and their characteristics by mobility status. But the conclusions drawn are limited to the City of Winnipeg and can not be over-generalized.