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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses* Q* t4 \' u4 u& x
From Today's Edmonton Journal0 Q5 g& I- Q! L: H7 c* N
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. . |) Q" W6 H' \/ |4 v
^7 b m6 N# {; ~' d, e* Z7 R" \From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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# u/ m0 Q! x( I! q% M8 J7 ^$ c" LThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. , f- o8 H! M3 P# Y; r9 I/ n
: m7 W6 K- @" v3 `, I! j+ l9 ]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. 2 s$ O% l$ r/ |: a! r U+ u
g& `! B6 e1 I4 W* H& [Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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- h$ \" @, d W1 r DIt 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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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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( B4 u) M3 @) A* k4 D) @“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
1 h6 h) L8 |2 T9 L4 g“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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m( H! l7 n/ N% V2 D“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.” ) I6 c) S0 a/ Y; N5 L8 D M- ^2 k
9 i2 j' _4 J. M* J6 {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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8 Z i; c( `- @6 @Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. ; Z! v# s- U9 @
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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. : I" m( r% U1 X6 u3 ^7 d Y: L
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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. / U" D: N( g& `7 \) H9 O: _
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 3 y( F% ~) P8 f+ P0 J' B2 Z
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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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