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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
0 K7 }, q) p2 L0 J- @3 |' S; O2 KFrom Today's Edmonton Journal% Z1 c; D s( e3 v9 K) }* z
! M+ w' O+ u: d, d `# {3 rMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ( k: {# X2 d* x" {4 T
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 9 t6 U, ?) v$ o& p7 d% D0 c6 N
" T4 H, f. p+ u. ?1 H1 D3 u' g4 aThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. . M! s @; T4 y% D; ^
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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.
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8 r C% z# A7 |3 k" ?8 y$ XBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 0 L2 @$ o. G. d
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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+ y( P3 p3 [) }7 Y# C5 QIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. * x/ q( O% ]3 Y/ F0 D; q
$ X: m6 ~* [0 c$ eATB 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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0 Z) R; c+ c4 L% {, M9 I$ m“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
5 w! S# _. ?& c8 j3 h“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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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.” 2 @8 ?! I( @/ t2 S/ {
- r) i; y+ Y) _# x5 A8 ^& ZBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. # r6 S8 `& f' @/ Z ^) g
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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. 0 N# A) X% p; g" f
3 f( o1 C; x2 M0 oThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 3 `# B* @0 I2 P$ F: ?* g
0 L5 v j* w6 |; R! d4 M“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. % S; G; E4 a7 G& t9 ~; @
0 t- W" D I# M* j2 e2 G4 vSumner 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. 1 |/ I5 s7 D4 D
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 5 H" {& N! G+ n- X6 I4 T
2 z/ p8 f5 j" b: [0 O) fAs 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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