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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
! J+ d- w5 i1 {, O% d: UFrom Today's Edmonton Journal, `% |. r% M9 u) ]) ?9 q
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 2 _. y y/ M; { i) t
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. * K. E# m! x1 j. s4 } v
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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.
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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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) ?' x! Y3 o, o+ N( u% U2 aIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. ' H7 U6 B9 `6 C7 i# V/ U3 G
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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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9 x( j* L1 r) a“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 6 A/ C( }7 f0 {( B2 k
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. , d# p( j- ~& s* z5 h
+ d$ S+ a( Y" @. J% w“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.” 9 a. f& p4 z0 g' p! T3 h
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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. 8 U' F% T& Y8 ?3 c& D; @
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. ' C/ o. m, {% S
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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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7 U. B$ G7 t. A m“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 0 f* `- g! l3 e0 e: K$ H# m
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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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