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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
: h& G- r4 i# s+ j5 P0 `" v* b! mFrom Today's Edmonton Journal' o* O! O/ f! o. y3 Z+ m# H
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 6 ?1 O0 B) x& Z& @
- {. G2 @- \6 b n7 e3 GFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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: T) p8 M# X) V5 ^( s+ iThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. / u0 N! H) |! i
4 G. j6 V, B$ i1 c# S, C6 ZOnly 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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; ~6 c3 C- p+ m" Z# N1 M/ B6 HBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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: \6 S5 x% d2 gIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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9 W; K* g: m: E1 dIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. * U- {; I8 A' o# a- F& H- T
; e. d4 \9 u2 C/ ~$ IATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 3 D3 ?% x* q2 l7 j* e: X
% d5 W. b6 k) t" v“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. ' x0 `$ z; d6 X( n/ `' x9 _. J7 }
“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.” ; E& a8 K0 T' O9 {0 \- i5 G+ s
: M# L: D. c) l5 ?( Q! G7 iBut 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.
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& ]# Q) T7 u# F' |That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. M5 C6 w0 }7 T% r; h7 }
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 1 Y& O* o9 F! |8 H
% h9 e2 |: o6 }5 M! u6 {+ x- |6 xSumner 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. 8 L! g- z5 V' d' {' B' _
- ]. H/ y& B* G8 i“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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