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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses! c, `8 U0 b, K
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. . t! V: y' y; s: B1 c0 m
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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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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! U+ T N$ o8 w2 XOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. ! o, l' Z4 Y0 C1 b6 j
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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3 T& x& J9 P, M' h9 ]6 [It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. * [; m4 N) L+ Z8 c e: H# h
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It 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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! |3 ^! S9 O! {% ]3 b“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
# s3 k0 N* w' e* h“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.”
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, @% F3 s4 y1 @$ B1 I% L3 CBut 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. 3 X5 _$ m5 V% {2 j( g, g- }
( I( P3 N, N7 E1 ^That 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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. _% r+ {$ n4 n$ x( m. G6 d2 Y3 K$ {“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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