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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
. ~& Q8 D$ C7 Y3 N0 qFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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; \" s+ i0 c3 |. h9 [$ [, c9 QMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 4 O3 w$ b3 J; W) _
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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5 D0 v, k* N( JThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 3 i: r! @; S, h% `, y9 m
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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. ' U: x( v( q! E' t+ p' B
- T% V, Z0 d7 H. z& U9 E- T# L$ nBetween 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. ! w& E0 K- F' Z+ a1 A; K1 E/ z8 f
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. 9 E5 W5 X) ]6 l8 ~2 t
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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. 4 m' M) ~3 A4 i3 S8 k& ^
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
1 I( X6 P6 s _6 o) B9 t“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.” 4 t. v& y' i4 Q4 T! G4 a7 `: I
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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.
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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.
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0 {. O( b) G' z* hThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. - v% y3 ^5 E4 [1 @- Q' S
/ ?; B$ F2 ~& P$ ]( M* U“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. ; D" w+ h' P( U5 T% N% {0 S% \) y5 t
+ @( J8 D& ?* Q: T“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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/ }7 a1 F' Q' b3 R3 K2 X4 h$ jAs 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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