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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses+ K. n3 m+ V$ ~0 ~% G! P. E7 y
From Today's Edmonton Journal2 j: y, m- S" V, o7 K
3 s J; O" h2 q1 ^! i9 YMigration 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.
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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. " m' F9 D4 v$ O* L I( {6 t
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. - b6 i4 w- d3 O; ?4 M
2 H, X/ q5 q3 z4 b8 H. } k$ z SIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. ) m% k i2 ?- I5 |5 k
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. ' d; T, q4 H2 M0 T6 l' {" k
2 q+ n4 [6 J4 f3 HATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 0 T$ |/ a5 P0 J' J! G7 {
, m0 ^8 h5 y/ J“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
% i" z$ n' I* ?- W7 t“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ; l: \$ ~: _3 r& J% s
* d* J4 j' r8 P2 ^% I" C( q% p8 B“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.” 7 `4 z/ T6 \% j$ M, g
s; i* Z5 o. E0 K4 `& }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. . e9 j* s9 D# e" o4 D( f4 o
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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. 7 u2 R4 ` r/ g' s
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. # |% N% Q# n' h9 N7 H7 t
- f1 m0 K( Z& J$ v* k+ h! v7 O“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. ! A3 P: O1 o5 Z2 ]' y3 f
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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.
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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8 G; x2 C5 G& v1 Q* E" L* oAs 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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