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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
/ k# l0 d- v, L- n* RFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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5 Y+ a) D" r! g d% P) tMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 9 }7 G$ q! \* }6 Y8 b8 Q, 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. * x% o1 a! g. w9 b9 P3 z" z- w, l8 w
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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.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 8 D9 H; A' J0 Z
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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.
+ M8 ^& ]. K l v“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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6 ?! a$ r/ W4 x& p- [5 F“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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" S- J2 B$ X- H$ U( M0 z; ^" fBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. $ M+ V4 I0 @ d7 J
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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. 4 Q% [* z0 R, G" `
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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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+ \0 h- p4 e& S* i8 r; Z+ K$ Z“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. * G7 @2 n$ E5 I
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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.
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3 t6 C8 D) W* m+ \5 o% N" A# }“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. # c) k8 Z5 u1 L1 I S
F! G$ @2 u: 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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