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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses# Z) d! t7 X1 L) H' ]( y, x
From Today's Edmonton Journal" J* `& P) S5 _' i
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. . y0 q: W; i- V% v1 P
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. ( P5 h. F/ _+ N# \1 U2 x. p) c: b0 [( o
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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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& p" o1 H6 ` ~" qOnly 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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: J( m- k' B/ ABetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 1 `1 V) X2 n+ w8 G4 t5 ~: j
4 ?8 A# _! c n2 vIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. & x% p& ~9 \3 T2 p- E. ]
" N) B9 e! l( E/ i }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.
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
- Q+ {( J# M1 n# X“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.”
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6 Z0 Q& L, H' t9 _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. 5 H: u4 X3 w3 p5 ~4 Q8 ^" H
5 A) ]& K+ C0 \" f ^, ?Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
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6 c% N- g2 a6 s+ D1 ^, w$ m) F. NThat 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. * b. E3 a# p# h. _; m- m$ C
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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. ! E1 j0 n/ \7 ?9 |! Z" [* f
2 x& F* j3 ^, g( r- X. b, H“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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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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