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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
8 D! M( H. k2 a9 \3 m: SFrom Today's Edmonton Journal) B0 Y; x3 A! {+ d" Z6 N
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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4 Q" t' x: a& c. W: b1 D: ?* HThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. + ^2 s8 }& z' w6 z @( ~7 N& u4 O
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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. 1 q# R: c2 X5 G; @( _
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. ; D4 {& k- R# H- U
& l5 S9 I3 V. ^! vIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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' i1 }! O9 ^/ ~; _& GATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. : A- }8 G1 ~: ?5 \: G1 u
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. / O- P4 P; n' N# N* r7 ^* C
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 6 z0 Y5 t8 g1 e6 } u$ Z
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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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& A% c% v1 y3 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.
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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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- \' ^+ R3 p5 F" B: eThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. : {4 p+ H/ r3 r
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. # f8 w& K: y( ?' X1 Q6 d) a# {, V
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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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4 x3 T" ?2 P5 C8 x: k: s, g“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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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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