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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses. K5 p, Y. Q/ j$ p( _; F; ]0 K/ a
From Today's Edmonton Journal Q: y0 }* q" s- b+ S" ^
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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$ G e( [) V% A- iFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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: O* p3 m1 m5 W& v1 AThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 9 b: t1 ^3 z! X9 \$ B, B
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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. : d8 p; X+ A9 ], _3 X% B
9 w1 K5 Q9 `+ s( qBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 2 W# \3 a" R8 X% z
8 H! e; z7 x' L& PIt 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. 3 T) H/ h; h+ ^4 f/ u. X! K' y* K- f
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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. , s4 c* i* t& k: E* m# M
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. , n* t: [9 N; P6 e) y* x# B
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. % [+ y) {; O+ d. P
) K( f) e! m. V* \“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.
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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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7 J! p. h5 {2 T$ cThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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% V; F, L7 s+ F6 Y5 j* M$ L. U“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 8 {& z0 r$ M2 w/ N: O. 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. 4 f: y h+ C+ H) t2 X4 F0 r0 j
9 y% Q' `2 Q I1 \“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. # y, K* o+ `' ]7 s) S
" b5 l! k+ _* E/ B. |# JAs 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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