CHAPTER 3C — INTER-MUNICIPAL MIGRATION, 1946-56

Statistics prepared by the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation indicate the degree and direction of the inter-municipal migration which occurred in the Greater Winnipeg area from 1946 to 1956. Table I, below, indicates the municipality of previous residence of N.H.A. home buyers in the metropolitan area during this ten year period.

Table I indicates that while only a small proportion of the persons who purchased new homes in Winnipeg lived previously in suburban municipalities, more than a third of the new home buyers in suburbs lived previously in Winnipeg, while more than half had lived previously in either the same or some other suburban municipality in the metropolitan area. (22.2% of those who bought homes in the suburbs had previously lived in the same suburban municipality, while 35.4% had lived in some other suburb in the Greater Winnipeg area.)

Winnipeggers showed a mild preference for staying in Winnipeg, while suburbanites showed a strong preference for staying in the suburbs. Of the Winnipeggers who purchased new homes in the metropolitan area during the period, 55% bought homes in the City, and 45% bought homes in the suburbs. Of the suburban residents who purchased new houses in the metropolitan area, 84% purchased in their own or another suburb, and only 16% purchased in Winnipeg.

The bases for these preferences were ascertained in a survey conducted by the Sociology Department of the University of Manitoba in January 1957. The reasons given reflected a diversity of motives ranging from the desire to pay low taxes, to the desire to live far away from relatives. The four reasons most commonly given for preferring to live in Winnipeg were the following (listed in order of frequency):

1. The superior schools and other facilities available.
2. Proximity to place of employment, downtown shopping, etc.
3. Proximity to district of former residence.
4. The presence in the district of friends and relatives.

The four reasons most commonly given for preferring to live in the suburbs were (in order of frequency):

1. The lower taxes and cheaper houses.
2. Suitability of the District for bringing up children.
3. The absence of noise and heavy traffic.
4. The more spacious building lots.

The survey revealed a considerable divergence in attitude as between residents of one Winnipeg district and another, and between residents of one suburb and another. When asked why they had chosen a particular district in Winnipeg, the interviewees in North and West Winnipeg emphasized the factor of proximity to place of employment; those in South Winnipeg stressed their desire to have as neighbors the type of person already living in this district. On the other hand, in most districts, many interviewees indicated that the main reason why they had moved to their particular neighborhood was because the house they liked best happened to be located there.

The four most commonly given reasons for moving to a particular district in Winnipeg were as follows (in order of frequency):

1. The best-liked house was located there.
2. The district was close to the place of employment.
3. Children would attend the local schools
4. Friends and relatives were already living here.

A slightly different pattern of replies was received from suburban interviewees, when asked why they had chosen to move to a particular suburban municipality. The four most commonly given reasons were as follows (in order of frequency):

1. Taxes were lower here than in other suburbs.
2. The best-liked house was located here.
3. The district was close to the place of employment.
4. Friends and relatives were already living here.

Attitudes varied from one suburb to another, however. Thus, residents of West Kildonan, Transcona, Assiniboia, and Charleswood emphasized low taxes as the reason for buying where they did, while residents of East Kildonan stressed that they found here the house they liked the best. Transcona residents emphasized, besides the low taxes, the factor of proximity to place of employment; residents of North Kildonan emphasized the desire to have the people of the local community as their neighbors; residents of St. Boniface stressed their desire to have their children attend the local schools.

The results of the survey suggest several significant conclusions in regard to inter-municipal movement within the metropolitan area. Firstly, a substantial minority of home buyers are little concerned about the characteristics of the district in which they buy a home; they move to a particular locality primarily because the house they like best is located there, or because the district happens to be near to their place of employment. On the other hand, the majority of house buyers do consider the special characteristics of a district before deciding to buy a home there, i.e. how high the realty tax is, what sort of people are living there already, what quality of public services are being provided by the local authorities. The fact that the metropolitan area contains a number of different districts, each possessing some special qualities and features, is consequently desirable in that it enables the more adequate satisfaction of the diversified tastes and desires of the four hundred thousand people who comprise the metropolitan population.