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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
* D7 O) \* y1 S1 hFrom Today's Edmonton Journal K- d& d' t% i1 n; B: w( x
! ?) ]0 j$ q! K9 o5 oMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 3 W: }. d. X1 c
* @ G! P1 ~0 b& u) aFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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! d9 n7 T( { J9 ?6 ?0 _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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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. 4 F" v. z4 c2 w
" ?( ]2 U' j0 vBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 0 m7 c; L( T8 b
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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& s j% s: q4 y% E: f ZIt 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. 7 O1 H Q! K# L
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. * {& b0 C o* b/ K1 G5 o0 G
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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$ C/ F8 e' F1 O7 V# v/ y. B“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.” 5 J' Y% a% @9 [- J5 k4 u
2 t1 J- H- S8 l& u% r M# ]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.
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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.
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. * Y- q3 \% A! c9 e9 T$ h9 V
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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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( t3 j( M- a. c3 {% l“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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