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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses( E" X/ ^/ X! p0 D: P1 w) ]' L) f
From Today's Edmonton Journal' H% W: B% d1 D! X
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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5 \, q9 s/ E6 G9 u$ O- G0 hFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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/ g% T2 E; C- FThat 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. i, t* L1 H" o; jOnly 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.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. $ M0 p5 N% W: Q7 D
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. x8 \' m5 N- F4 \+ i
4 W" ~( d% p) [- n4 }; X" D* nATB 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.
0 X6 A' D! z% m7 M7 A$ m, c“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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* k9 s1 u4 L1 s3 p( D: m0 Z“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.” 2 n) E6 |3 E+ {7 I( s6 F1 O- g' S$ O
3 v" v. q/ {) j2 q+ K0 D, a( HBut 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. 9 v: W( g8 R/ Q
1 E" D" F- D8 D9 s! a" Y4 ~That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. . G" [" `# u" h: `9 C
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. + O' I5 e! Q/ o! \& t7 [
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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. 1 T4 D( |# r6 }/ g- @' G9 \
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 0 Q* g. t4 M/ t* Q5 s# \
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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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