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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
! y! H/ e3 y y9 s1 @& QFrom Today's Edmonton Journal; ^- K j# u& h/ @# j
! k- u" i9 m, b2 _# gMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 4 \6 H; e" R" p& H" E3 H% i
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 5 p# C" X* ]1 q; z) Z4 t
4 m A0 f5 j. H" G3 mThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
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* y) k* J/ U1 L$ A1 POnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that.
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+ ]- f5 F3 i0 X6 d$ K {Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. 2 V0 [2 i+ E2 Q( C' K
; p. J; Y& _* c9 j DATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. * O4 h! |! a' d7 W1 N( O) B7 F1 }
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
7 U4 ^/ J" F; u* S" U/ h“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 6 t! L( b5 G; D0 Q6 b
5 A' X6 h5 F% D, ^" U“During the mid-decade, unsustainably strong job prospects drove migrants to Alberta from all corners of the country, although this trend reversed course quickly during the recession.”
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But he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. ' ?" o/ A3 X X
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Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 1 W) s5 h- |* W, _) S
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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, K9 b! t; {) j; x1 Z8 Q' U3 N“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 5 `) ~4 h) |# J* O. S
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Sumner said the province’s strong natural increase was partly due to its population having the lowest median age at 35.8, compared to the national average of 39.7.
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0 W+ ?- s) o7 a, _+ h0 D9 I“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 0 Y8 j2 ~+ K E; j8 y$ ?6 ]
7 U( i5 W8 c$ SAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
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