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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses5 R1 {4 S5 N: Z: O5 X* X: i
From Today's Edmonton Journal! N' {$ c' k$ D4 u4 O
9 x u; @# h% HMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. , g$ [8 [7 ] s2 n) ?+ s
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From 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. 3 Z2 `7 m# f0 ^, v v
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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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5 H+ @" x/ L. l2 v/ T% ]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. , X' A7 t! j: I, I
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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' P. h$ O7 H. kATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. ! M% y0 D! Y2 H2 ^+ F! d7 m8 A
/ L" [4 Y4 S- I5 w“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 5 `) I) w& Z: I, m, J
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 6 C: @- r3 {2 {# ^9 B, r
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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.” 4 V; d% i* s5 x6 u& O# k6 k& G2 f
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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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5 T0 b6 q( s9 [& g0 LStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 7 `3 ]8 p$ k& N: V q( s
N5 [0 b1 z+ k' I- fThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. - ^6 k! y0 e8 B8 @0 y8 b
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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. * m2 D) |+ [3 N/ x3 _& P; v
0 e9 [& |2 m! f$ v+ H. X“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. , n/ W* o z1 f( D2 Z+ A& F
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As 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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