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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
C* p( Y! n# J6 IFrom Today's Edmonton Journal2 [7 m u' A8 x {' c A' i
. c3 Z5 R3 q% q# E/ w3 A$ ~Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. : c; Q5 `6 {! y8 | X- e+ Z I
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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1 c' W) S y" \# J* z4 r7 SThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. : R3 p5 v6 ~( o8 \6 ~) n) ~ c' L+ G3 v
) Q( t5 @; X L) t& K6 m+ b3 _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. % l9 T G. C+ N, z
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. ' W" `. a' Y5 L% h# H
+ C# `8 n2 \$ LIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. + S: C% u0 b% o+ A) p
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It 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. ( }3 }: N7 N7 ? Y L
$ m4 {9 t8 \( q( g, j0 U% g7 q1 p“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
' X) y3 s) F, `“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. & c( z# D1 q/ `1 r( G- F' A7 j
9 {& `# m. b) r. l! i7 c4 E# ~9 m! s6 G“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+ F- G6 G+ Q8 |9 v- X
) V# Q& k" a) w4 s3 Z# fBut 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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1 p- C Q9 |4 p8 _1 fThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. / z: g1 \: _3 q: e2 ~
5 o6 P9 _- K" @. \4 i/ G( jSumner 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. 7 t/ Z4 \0 E6 X7 L) J( _
! n1 s6 x* ?: [“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. & M: s2 A/ A+ E' w
/ |- j/ |' I( l8 U y: UAs 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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