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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
) X8 s, ]8 d( Q3 R; cFrom Today's Edmonton Journal: Z2 V: ]- ~/ u5 O9 z, R; c" o5 U. i
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. & M0 j F+ x: W1 F2 ~0 @1 j/ o) o
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. ( A# M l5 [! \; B0 m7 B1 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. * S. b# U- K* [/ g' S5 ]
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. + G+ \3 B$ P# ^) A
4 K V* Y# R* o$ o, sIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. % ~( ^* I. [: A! n' g8 ]
& m' R* F( l6 s. h9 J& a% B1 xATB 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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7 w. i4 _* g" R; @# L“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
/ A% N( t5 T. s, h8 r. d“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. . l# I1 q5 ?" [; Z
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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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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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& D3 _3 u2 p7 z. u: E: y4 d# Z, h) {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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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 1 p1 I+ \6 A, W* ~6 {8 [* R2 H
& e" ?) p& i* O8 I“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 2 P4 i, o8 M2 f1 P$ h
' U( y. Q1 |' s' Y4 W. a5 hSumner 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. ; g; \& R7 T0 _1 `% }
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 5 q9 i( E5 T; I% l; v
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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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