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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
+ u% u0 P$ `- x. a+ L: zFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. . E+ D8 q" Y9 x* V* o2 g ?# f J
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. , e; e: h; U1 @& H# c
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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. . E* V9 z4 X& S; P$ [' _* X; n8 f
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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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% M- o l4 {8 p) C+ {& y4 hBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. % \: {* I0 [1 a3 k( `
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 9 b2 Q9 Q; P9 v: }/ `, K; H
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. / f$ G& M9 ~' t# x! j
5 C- s* F+ M+ s: _. A, M+ z @( iATB 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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: c# N6 [- X! v8 m“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 2 U: S8 B: _; ~2 @0 \3 L' K
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. + [8 z: l1 x- J! G- E8 z. v
5 l3 P! L# M6 c: ^“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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- ]; l8 V$ \+ I4 t# q1 A: G. nStatistics 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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2 J5 Y( g: w" R7 N3 ZThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 9 e* r7 Z @0 P- o' c0 j8 s6 I1 F' K
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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. 0 ^8 j# `; ^& V4 ~
0 S4 h8 `2 i+ `0 Q“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. & N- U# h r' ?7 b
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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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