Grade 8 - Migration Review
By the end of this unit you will be able to:
 Identify factors that affect migration
 Use geographic representations to communicate information about migration and its effects on
people and communities
 Connect the real experience of Canadians to information about the causes and effects of
migration
What is migration? - The movement of people, animals or things from one place to another.
Why do people migrate? For political, social and economic reasons
The First Migrations: Earliest ancestors moved to find food, shelter, fresh water and safety.
Building Empires: In more recent times, nations created migrations to satisfy national needs. For
example to reduce population, extend power, conquer new land and create wealth
Push Factors: Factors that influence people to move away are called Push Factors
These can include:
 Persecution
 Lack of freedom / war
 Lack of employment
 Drought or enviromental disaster
 Poor living conditions
Pull Factors: Pull Factors attract people to new places
These can include:
 Opportunities for better jobs or education
 Security and peace
 Better living conditions
 Good climate
Human Rights and Migration: In 1948 the United Nations proclaimed all people are entitled to rights
and freedoms, such as;
 The right to life, freedom and security
 Freedom of thought and opinion
 Freedom of religion
 Freedom of speech
 Freedom from wrongful imprisonment
 Freedom from slavery
 Freedom from mistreatment and torture
Forced Migration: Sometimes people have to leave their homelands against their will
e.g. Slavery
- Between 1500 and 1850, millions of Black Africans were captured, herded into ships and transported to
the Americas
Forced Dislocation: In North America, European settlers forced many First Nations peoples to move
from their lands and onto reserves
- Japanese Canadians were also dislocated after Pearl Harbour to BC internment camps in the 1940s
Barriers: barriers are obstacles which prevent people from migrating. For example;
 Political barriers: laws prohibiting people from leaving the country
 Physical barriers: distance, ocean, mountains, walls or fences
 Economic barriers: not having enough money to move
 Legal barriers: limits to the number of people the new country will let in
 Procedural barriers: getting passports and visas
Culture: a culture is a way of life shared by a group of people. Culture gives us our identity and helps us
sustain it. It helps people define who they are.
People in a cultural group:
 Use a shared language to communicate with each other
 Share relgious beliefs
 Are members of families and communities
 Share activities such as celebrations and holidays
 Produce goods and provide services in distinctive ways
 Educate their children about their way of life
 Use stories, art, music and dance to express who they are
Assimilation: is the result of one culture changing to fit, or to be more like, another
Cultural diffusion: the peaceful spreading of cultural ideas from one group to another
Mainstream populatation: is the major cultural group in a society
Canada’s government has a policy of multiculturalism. In Canada, we want to understand each other’s
heritages, and to celebrate our diverse cultures together.
Racism: is hostile discrimination against people based on their ethnicity.
Xenophobia: is the fear of strangers, particularly a mistrust of people who look and act differently