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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses" C7 Q5 D) p6 ?; P+ `
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 9 o9 ]- e* U; \/ Q* D) u- ?1 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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9 N) x" Z; G% m) w7 CThat 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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# x' v. a& l$ f9 f( C: p; B( eOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. # x# X0 {9 f7 m8 {/ g0 i1 ~
( o/ {+ o6 h8 I9 X: l' CBetween 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. 3 J& a3 X* K% C5 r. G
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. $ r, U# _5 F, |: {# l/ D; M2 n
" I% e k8 l( n. ] [! t' AATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. & t$ o5 l" W1 y0 X6 [( }
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. ; R5 q3 |# S, N
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 3 F& D& m, ^) v; F
) i1 K' @; _' ^6 D& z' p6 t“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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2 a+ ? e. d' y( C' WBut 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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. I# f/ |6 t8 i) s6 z5 b! f, dStatistics 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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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. % T+ \& U9 a- D& e; f; ^* s& [ J2 t
" x: P: V) K4 _2 n“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. " e4 I3 I& A* R( }
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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. ! O, f, B: h3 U
& I6 t5 Z5 P0 }, S" j7 z“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. $ J# `- ]; `6 J' h
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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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