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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
/ z w9 i, v; E7 G7 k- DFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 2 x d0 f9 e) U" V
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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. / v1 `( Z: ? X/ K. ~: u
* b) A) I! ?) A9 AOnly 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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! [4 U7 T) L+ P/ j1 HBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 3 ]7 c( S( c) ]. D: J2 \$ }0 }1 _
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. - T+ u8 i7 j$ O, Q7 e
+ m0 f- ]8 e) E# a* x4 C6 dIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. + p3 M# }9 p0 I
/ a. @: R% b9 E7 NATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 1 m6 T: W" }" a5 }9 X
# j. A4 t+ l9 ?5 f+ p“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
( v0 W1 D4 ~- f/ O3 Z“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ; B8 O* F, I J& T- Y
% X, [7 b$ z7 P( b O9 J“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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9 c; d/ [& d! S) QBut 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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* K1 l: J# y; s/ m7 [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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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. ' T2 W! e% [/ t f$ E0 j s, R# j
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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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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. - A8 ?+ J( a5 {- x- ~
5 T3 D7 D- \0 c5 h9 VAs 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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