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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
+ n. F% N' @( j/ I! ^From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. # R1 x- u- h! W! t
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That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. % r9 C9 u8 l( \* a! {, ^
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Only 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. 7 J5 A! D! S- g3 h
( n1 g8 _* U. A2 T" zBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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, c. C* I; d5 `4 ~% NIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 7 O0 s+ T) e. \/ G
f" q) B- }$ a; f0 \# lIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. # {" e9 p% ]- y; t/ E
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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“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.” 2 H1 G: E" S2 S! F
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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. * [. C, M* [/ z
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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. 0 b, X6 C7 r4 p- j( i; e
4 T4 X$ M, v7 b! z7 S( CThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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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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/ p& \' ?- h0 @" ^, e/ Z“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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As 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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