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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses/ q, c( b: F& N
From Today's Edmonton Journal: p1 ?" L- z; M8 Z6 |9 L$ w
1 C- d( h7 t% [: N3 DMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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1 {% C! r) \/ P1 k2 v, vFrom 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. # B0 q! X& h; G6 t0 r
) S* H) s' C4 SOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. . g- j& `+ x3 _4 b8 P# C0 d
" w2 h& e& P9 r. ?2 CBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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5 j8 U: e1 D+ k$ ^# g- jIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 9 p4 V- Q5 a0 C
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. # i8 _& t y7 M
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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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g& V4 C. i+ Q2 f5 p+ r“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. . \9 f2 f; d) {' i0 q
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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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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' q, O' |7 }& t! K$ v) KBut 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. 6 P' X/ `( V6 w: _7 t$ |4 r. v q, b$ j3 i
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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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9 S+ G P4 y% k, T( k“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. * ~9 }/ ` |0 p6 Q& y" d+ o: M
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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. " w( P X9 Q+ L
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. + A6 f' O/ {$ ?0 q% l0 p2 \
0 d# X+ M/ ?4 M( N: jAs 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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