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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses+ m% C" w1 t. h
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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3 `- ^) }& r. oMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ' X; m( C. c0 V6 T6 {
. q' V/ Y H+ j w) j# [0 g+ }- k0 rFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. , F/ m! i H+ m% I3 ^+ d
3 }6 Q& A# w7 U: a* ~That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. , o4 u! r/ i9 h2 a3 |
( }2 w, y; O8 h$ V) ?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. % b2 I) K9 F! u/ k. B8 t9 q+ F' i
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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. 2 y9 ]+ r' Q/ P2 s* ^
5 l! q0 y3 B& d% D4 E- SIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. ! N5 s3 _4 l' V6 i1 H0 u
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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. : A& {7 R0 Q2 d0 o
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. ' _& G8 a2 i: p1 b
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. * S, L1 D( o% ~' m2 H& n; d
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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. # D* J# b9 w2 P# b1 G( E
# s8 x9 A4 X8 p mStatistics 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. 1 z' W8 ]3 z$ h& h) t+ M1 x
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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.
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* A! v" j; P1 F3 ]/ @“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 6 `2 e0 X% C% C. }7 O& `- r
! X2 t }- T1 u% W8 g9 z" EAs 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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