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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
. N7 w! \) V% ?) r( SFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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0 {- e4 @: w# |& K& f+ \$ UMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ) I3 _/ m% e3 k3 s; Q: q" o% Y E
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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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. % w$ [6 J7 Y* [2 W: [; _! ]* B
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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* l% [! }: l% H( s5 }- M+ \It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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1 n/ v# A% j- r# U0 T- q4 DIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. % G! M% t0 Z+ a L
5 h% \5 O! k( XATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
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% l( b( p6 f& W“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
; p: e: k8 f% P2 _5 ^+ V“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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. l* c1 U* g) h0 Z3 Q5 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.” @) Z# R) b( b4 @; s* d0 n
% X' W! s G) IBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. # @1 V$ j9 P+ `. b& b# ^& v: p. I3 c
9 j8 [ h: o) N" y0 uStatistics 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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* ^8 d1 J! F: p- ^% G/ FThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. : R1 y6 d9 E8 E) T8 D7 z6 v
! H% U/ L8 O b. ?. E g“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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) r. t& O! ~; ?% J8 g$ R( ISumner 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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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 4 p$ x. \- L6 L( ^1 A1 Q
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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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