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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
% a2 l; O- s# G+ H" P' \8 EFrom Today's Edmonton Journal: D0 l. p# c& q I
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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. * l0 [% Q) B. W- i& i" _/ i
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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. - n% A7 h0 v# G1 w* V
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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.
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. % f7 a; B7 ]) c1 S) `" M5 c
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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.
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0 z7 `) S# d; I1 bATB 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.
: E! [$ _. P' n" H: G9 \“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.” % v' }# a) @* A7 l4 d0 i# `" O- G
7 U+ J/ s% x6 t' A; e3 aBut 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. + ^( A0 v, o/ v8 e6 R M
& t; q Y/ X2 s( p W1 @That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 5 b$ ?% Y6 M9 f) [
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. ! `) p, h3 C+ T- X3 x a2 L
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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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6 R$ g- t1 t/ b( o8 ~“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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