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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses! P5 j. d) t0 V0 Q, i, L' q7 R G
From Today's Edmonton Journal1 C, P8 m9 A- ?
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ' [; U4 K9 s, v$ _% V/ l8 y. K2 G
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 4 F4 Y' D/ W% E; q3 g; Z& A, ]) `
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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.
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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. / {3 k! T+ X6 i
' m- i/ l' {; \$ I1 m! HBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. . G4 C" S: }: w4 D3 [% D. X
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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. % C2 L0 F8 T$ i& J$ \( C) [$ F
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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. 7 G+ @) t- g. [1 M4 T# P
* c+ u2 b2 m7 R$ g: X0 h“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
. z/ D" B2 O2 o, V3 g“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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* q5 q5 X3 _6 f“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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4 w& |6 K4 u. r9 oBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely.
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# ]' Q9 [5 |' U5 R( S# T4 [ kStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 0 c" V. w* l2 {& X
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 0 N8 M6 X* E6 A) _, V( Y
5 Q( B5 J) S1 G" O6 h! }“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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* e0 H m: Z/ A" _( I$ l- _* Y6 hSumner 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. 4 E' B; Y' L; D7 r; C5 {
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. * }! `' B/ i6 m/ ]3 h& W% y; p2 r
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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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