 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
5 f, H3 g! s3 X$ `From Today's Edmonton Journal$ f5 w/ E: x4 s5 s; O) K
. Z9 ]* ?# m$ i& y0 H# C: I8 \
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
1 e. j! c3 Z# |" r8 V. u" _
1 F Y# ?; k Z% ~: R. M$ K4 b& rFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
- m! d; _ q/ e9 l
) Q3 B: Z3 _& ?# e, c# m. jThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 1 R6 z8 N: p/ h
' j" [& z# D- A* X& a" @' LOnly 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 b; ?. x _2 e" r: g
8 Y, @' l3 _% M2 b3 L# i$ I) ]. YBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
+ D( ~% T' P' G6 D
% Z" a5 b% U f$ [4 Q! p' j& kIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
' |& x( V, I( a9 h! Q% T2 s) ~6 X0 ?
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. 0 w. z1 ]5 N: ?2 [
6 h- i8 ^+ o" a- m4 `
ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 4 h/ Z ?' \5 _6 `
9 V! ]8 `( i, N2 T) |' A1 K
“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
8 k+ H8 D6 b G# i2 \( Q“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
7 x/ a( K: b9 Y2 _6 p7 L; C% n) S! t( f& \, k9 ~
“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.” 5 O5 ^9 x6 t7 Q; Z2 y4 i7 g$ G7 _
6 M# y$ v+ }+ |. H; S- i$ SBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. 2 g' g( d# `( [1 D) q
- H6 J- a! _( }5 P
Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 7 r; R& J+ f, l1 _. h( P) v
) y. R( C) s2 x/ K W3 r+ [+ q. N7 {
That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
% K$ L+ p$ ^" g, C; Z V$ j. A {6 ~6 r# q
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
1 r$ d; J) W$ H+ K9 z$ x0 | M! I) q6 _( x% U- S0 r8 F. d) d0 V
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.
$ }, G. x* |: C* I8 \4 }4 N: g& H0 p5 M: y
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
9 B% T9 L0 W8 t' F7 h1 d6 |9 o* K# R- q
; E+ A! a* p( cAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|