After the War, there was a
degree of anti-American nationalism, and new laws in Upper Canada (Ontario)
prevented Americans from recieving land grants until they had lived in Upper
Canada (Ontario) for several years. This was discouraging to most Americans,
though some settlers continued to trickle in.
Another resul of the War of 1812 was a strengthening of the bond between Britian and colonists of British North America. However most people did not even think of leaving especially to travel across the Atlantic Ocean - unless they had a very good reason. The British government did not encourage emigration when the Wars in Europe required a stable or growing population. Immigrants had come from Britian before, but not on the scale of the Great Migration.
After several wars, several
conditions made life in Britain intolerable for many people. In fact, some saw
emigration as necessary for thier survival. A general
economic depression across Britan caused high unemployment.
After the war many soldiers were looking for work. The onset of the
Industrial Revolution meant that many workers were
replaced by machines and that many smaller, family industries were replaced by
factories.
In Ireland crop
failures/lPotato Famine were so extreme that the choice for many people was to emigrate or starve. In Scotland the change from their traditional tenant-farmer system left many people without a house or a job or even a means of obtaining food.
The British Government made great efforts to encourage emigration to British North America (Canada) by paying for families travels across the Atlantic and providing and grants.