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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
. ]1 ^- h* U0 ?/ ^From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 6 c8 F' n0 x% d
?4 g# f- x" {/ ]3 N% }From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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1 Z) G, _7 L$ d3 ZThat 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.
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. ( B R% u) D. Z) D: T7 K' C
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 2 b- n% T$ W5 X
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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.
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 6 [' [: W* x9 W
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ( f2 L# i* S1 d4 h" F0 _
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“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.”
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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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# A' z7 {" u% [, h, T- f" CStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. ) C$ |' u" D% H! l9 y# n
t- |6 C7 x. h4 CThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. ) w" a Q V5 v2 z
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 6 V! h$ {8 T+ t/ e9 c2 W6 j
- K# J( S1 c3 PSumner 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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9 X' L8 \! a8 S3 |# J; O“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. * F) A: I+ Q/ ]/ W+ z5 o
' U! T: v2 X% q, M. K- nAs 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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