 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
! s/ j/ X+ P5 I3 `7 QFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
4 o9 a% k3 K/ L- }2 `4 V$ E2 ~, b; L" b: G2 t8 l7 @
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. : e: w( ^$ _, H7 A1 F
! |& T- l9 q2 M6 L8 I5 b
From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
3 s" @( i& |$ N4 F' z! e2 l2 A! r3 R6 M
That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 2 n1 W4 J p" }1 y: M* G' r
+ i8 V9 j3 @1 Q5 G" _, k) kOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. & Z) T3 F+ Z$ U A( l
7 {- [. J% y# m2 ~! D t/ c; O# o
Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
- R5 |6 V6 L m" y8 d
' W7 N, ]' D' D( CIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
9 e4 `2 J* u9 J x4 q! F
- p0 R4 S( o5 b/ g; N, K" ?5 AIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. , `5 ~9 [! h. w/ f
9 o% t/ U8 S$ LATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
" k2 w6 K; ?2 U+ v: C" Y+ j8 P
( D+ x) x4 D, l( N" j. D“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 1 Z) D: y4 C+ [0 g8 _; q+ M
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
& x) c2 `! b" Y
1 K6 ]& @1 P3 M“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.” 2 A5 d2 _. Q/ g) d7 ~
1 _2 p+ o0 p$ ]
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. ; t J2 x4 H, a$ A# H. p+ A3 [
9 K- L& B# [4 b. F8 H+ SStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
3 j8 h$ T; f: `* I3 \* \! K7 @; J& M) J7 ~5 q" p) Y4 J1 G
That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
) L6 J, d4 l$ B1 J' m7 `% m+ ^# ?# b2 }$ l
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
4 Q5 p1 u- w6 g' e/ A4 Q& V9 X( |& r7 [' ?
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. # X# o- {3 b1 W( h; V4 _
8 h; _ R; y. U0 h- T# o
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
2 K9 W. e9 a) x5 `; }& G+ w
' P+ c4 T) _. [. f3 l5 VAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|