Running back to Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Regina ...

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
8 a3 R2 k6 b8 ^4 S7 S, z$ w7 L" j7 O$ gPublished: Friday, March 30, 2007
- h1 w  B9 r/ A0 }; c& W  FEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
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For the first time since 1996, more people are moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan than the other way around. It's part of a slight slowdown in Alberta's population growth, which is still increasing at four times the rest of the country.
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According to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.

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0 k* u3 y" I4 L2 I  ?"This is a good batch of numbers," said Roy Schneider, spokesman for Saskatchewan Industry and Resources. "We were bleeding so many people to Alberta for such a long time I'd be happy to see (a net increase from Alberta of) two.

9 M& m- q/ Q1 L* u) bFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.
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2 H9 q% C# B1 ?Even in the third quarter of 2006, Saskatchewan experienced a net loss of 994 people to Alberta, and the province launched an ad campaign, extolling the better life of Saskatchewan in billboards popping up around Edmonton.
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8 P. U4 z7 s8 S' _6 iStatistics Canada hasn't tracked who these people are, but Crystal and Cam Hamilton, who moved back to Regina at the beginning of the year, might be typical.

3 r5 R8 K; b) J4 H& S9 tCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
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There were no jobs in Regina in his field, so he stayed in Edmonton to work. Crystal followed him here and they married, eventually buying a house in Lymburn in southwest Edmonton.
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After having their son Brady, who is now 11 months old, they decided it would be nice to be back in Regina with family, and that became possible.
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: y* r/ M7 @: L6 N"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
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They ended up with a tidy nest egg from the move and managed to pay off their debts. The Edmonton house they bought two years ago for $157,000 got them $306,000, and they built a new, larger home in Regina for $190,000.
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"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.

% N/ \' I& \0 Q0 D. G# ?0 I"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

5 a  U9 [/ C) ?8 C  _  _+ M$ `8 kVicki Delnea and her husband Rod had similar reasons for moving to Regina from Calgary -- the difference in the cost of housing enabled them to pay off their mortgage.
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"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
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  N# u/ ^" J0 m8 G& J& O( XWhile she is from London, England, Rod was originally from Regina, and it will be great for her three-year-old, Joshua, to know his grandparents, she said.
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' H% \! q% R1 Z6 YRod, who works in marketing, was able to keep his job and is working out of a home office, which saves him a 40-minute commute.
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3 |- S/ [1 u/ P"Everybody thought we were crazy moving here because there is a stigma against Saskatchewan. When we told them Regina, they said: 'Why?' We said: 'Why not?' "

; }' K! x( A& u" n( c9 l" v( LSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
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' O% Q6 p! V) d" [% R! E7 Z7 nFrank Trovato, a demographer in the sociology department at the University of Alberta, said it's not surprising to see more people moving to Saskatchewan after such a long period of net outflow of people to Alberta.

"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
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There are likely a number of factors at play, including the lower cost of housing and greater economic opportunities back in Saskatchewan, but there were probably a number of people who found that Edmonton didn't provide the opportunities they were hoping for, he said.
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. \# ~" G! U+ ?"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
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$ b' }& y4 M9 E, X; Y- R1 FTerry Hincks, a Regina city councillor and realtor, said Albertans are buying a lot of homes in Regina, either as revenue property or to eventually be their place of residence.
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# s4 |$ v! r1 j/ \! Y"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."

4 ]& D0 W4 q" K) X- ?0 AReal estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.

9 ~0 E- h- c. ^! }msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

AGAINST THE TIDE

: M4 v4 v2 B  }No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
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$ z" t3 Z* ^) R- t2 M- K: zNo. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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Net loss for Alberta: 128
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Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800

Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100

4 z+ [2 {: M6 \  ^: G8 D3 B( FPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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- E8 Q) C; N( S" N- `Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent
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Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent

2 f% z9 G- T) z* M0 lSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006