Labour market dynamics in Canada, 1891-1911: a first look from new census samples

This paper uses newly available census evidence to portray changes in labour market outcomes in Canada between 1891 and 1911. Multiple census cross-sections allow for the documentation of how the location, occupation, and earnings of Canadian and foreign-born cohorts changed over time. The westward movement of young anglophones after 1901 contributed to the formation of a national labour market. Anglophone, francophone, and foreign-born cohorts all experienced significant occupational mobility between 1891 and 1911, but francophones and immigrants remained over-represented at the bottom of the occupational ladder. Greater occupational and geographical mobility supported higher rates of earnings growth among Anglophones.