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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
9 N/ w( ]# Y3 c$ f$ KFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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) f1 }1 a& z" I+ ], v5 wMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 6 P0 j4 `+ p* a* q f
1 k0 v8 z5 |" o- ]$ N( c$ N) rFrom 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. ' c$ w# i) b- P- W5 N5 |
$ n5 I0 s3 H- `8 ]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. ( s& a4 G, x( i9 Q0 @ y: O
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. $ b i8 {0 c* n) X
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. . ^- D- p5 W+ A: c
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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. , r7 m3 l1 @& y+ f' A/ ~
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
# X0 k" L+ U0 w$ S: }“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 8 W! v0 ]3 G/ @/ I+ t- T+ m1 G7 T
' [5 X1 V& t 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.” 3 t' h* L1 i9 N) N- M! I
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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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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.
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4 E1 k: }; b( [! p: S }& S: Y“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 1 A/ Q" A9 @" }
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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. ' V# s3 O5 q' W7 w0 [
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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9 d" S4 S( I9 Y9 D; O: Y9 N: gAs 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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