 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
3 f7 s1 u x4 lFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
& ~3 x! b* @# V$ B1 j9 Q1 g+ w# z. V) c$ T" S
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ! l: X7 A6 q8 t% p
5 ^: z5 I3 ?6 |/ R% \
From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 3 d3 J, A6 @+ f% T* R
2 X: d$ m. T2 G* h1 YThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. ' X/ F- ]) A5 o5 B4 `1 y) h r
" [; K& v4 L$ Z8 ?( Z: i6 p: v
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. 6 G. Z5 G2 @* G! }0 ]% o
1 ~: Q$ ?) n; N' }; X& r) b' ]Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. " z4 X3 W& J4 @0 n5 ]8 u7 F( C
$ L4 z, m Y/ b' C3 r2 y pIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. . u; f& t- A9 _
- Z8 G( t" f7 E9 T5 w7 A. R0 K
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. - ?7 u+ a9 ~4 T; N6 U3 K4 O! ]
9 v- T4 }5 U: b6 v
ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. / K3 \% E5 s+ d9 A
/ B3 m1 v. X8 n- o! u+ L$ d
“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. & h, u% ~2 n, T& {7 z
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
' ` Y: P0 d. ^
# l5 h5 b0 k4 z) N. @$ V- `“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.” % }$ x5 T) `; |' k! x. o
# x! ^8 R7 S( t; Z/ J) e" u( rBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. 8 @4 M, c( X( }6 a5 \" d! V5 z
# i( A/ o0 W9 n2 P1 j& [Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
# M9 g$ S! x: r& s0 p9 z$ V g: ~0 {8 D
That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 1 @/ J: f9 |% N. `% l" R& D
4 S1 `+ \: F+ p“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
% k+ M, t/ k: D: k4 \
5 |% B+ `3 i" x: u+ R1 R6 g4 W8 NSumner 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.
r6 [% V% Q# e, P# l! c
( \: E# M% L6 Z G9 x+ _“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. + i$ X, x4 J0 F) l h# b; [
3 M' j1 Q7 F4 p% L7 J
As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|