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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
- W# Y3 f; g) b2 I) }' xFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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6 O$ ~) Y) T- ?& WMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 9 s; |2 h& e% B* \
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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.
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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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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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3 R; y& l$ E9 AIt 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. ) y; w: O$ i% h- e. j2 }) V
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 0 @4 R7 k+ j8 |5 I1 w8 q0 o( s
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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7 F" y B2 _6 @' a+ F7 \ F* f c“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.” / l" c+ Y) J* U1 I
* c5 B0 z1 b0 e" Y3 j6 pBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. ; w1 k: q8 ]. z; t* M \
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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. / W( f; C+ [: w4 B" d/ z0 S
+ [( r% U3 M5 {( P2 MThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 1 Z O2 @+ R1 }+ D) }+ t# ]
- {. Q- s* h2 V! o+ @* P“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. $ \' I/ I" `, e# b; d* b) {9 P
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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. 9 W6 ~! j9 T# D* G- P- O. v1 [
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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4 h+ Z9 ~$ e& W7 q; @( g/ S) kAs 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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