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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses8 S# V: h, t, P5 Y5 Q
From Today's Edmonton Journal0 I( m: e N% f* [& C. e
4 D8 I! Z$ j/ P# r& kMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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S, ?* i# p5 x! p1 wFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. n% k5 K3 e$ k/ x5 ? g
6 T |, B4 ~2 ]. V4 }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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/ P% M8 ^6 [! K3 YBetween 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. + s7 Y3 u1 F: F$ V! G# I
" a$ Z! _& y$ K& G! VIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. # A5 `5 M9 |: S6 H6 E
' d- `0 w6 @8 E p% {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.
4 |+ U& a: |, {. }( w“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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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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Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 3 b+ a/ `0 R8 b9 x/ o3 [
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That 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. * m+ D* |: d' i* V" |+ `! j
( g p1 D8 D' }7 O7 @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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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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