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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses2 B" N, c3 R8 w8 D3 _7 V6 m
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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3 s2 J3 s; {/ x6 }/ _8 EFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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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. ; a) H+ G k5 R* t% h
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. / f7 U5 [+ l1 c$ U1 t3 N! F8 K6 T
! s& v# a# c% f3 j4 f/ \" n- [+ XIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 0 U- M) A6 G h% z" Y
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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. ; A6 z. M! O# m, N0 J
# W& Z1 X @6 D; g“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
: E( g9 `# L* s* E x“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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! M( h1 Q' ]7 {$ t2 X“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.” . |* {4 w) _! `# p
# D# i' m; `& v2 p* g/ t* QBut 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. : R1 n, Q( y, n4 z4 X
( N8 Z Y5 G! }. p5 }. P; y3 C( LThat 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.
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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. , C/ m' S/ ]$ @, |4 _3 h
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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2 J% X; ]& |* U/ }8 {. k0 j1 b- GAs 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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