Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the lived experiences of military spouses in North Bay, Ontario in relation to frequent geographical mobility and unstable employment.

Paper long abstract:

The military requires its members to move frequently which causes military spouses' careers to be constantly interrupted and can contribute to increased difficulty finding a new job with every move. American literature demonstrates that this frequent mobility and career instability has had a negative effect on many aspects of military spouses' lives. This often results in a tied-migration where the military member moves for employment or career reasons and the civilian spouse follows. Thus, being in a relationship with a military member poses career and work challenges for the civilian spouse. The alternative option to tied-migration would be paramount stress for the military member and his/her family because of family separation. Thus, military spouses often struggle with career choices because they need to a new job with every move, and also because they may find work that does not match their interests. In addition, by cutting into the earning cycle of the tied spouse's work, tied migration leads to slower growth of wages over the life-cycle of the spouse, which in turn can lead to personal frustration and personal stress. Currently, there are limited government programs to facilitate military spouses' employment transitions due to military tied-migration. Therefore, a more nuanced understanding of the effects of tied migration for military spouses is needed. This study will fill a gap in literature on the experiences of military spouses in Canada.