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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
# k( i* `: O: W8 k MFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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* c! H5 k% m# {+ E* W5 MMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. + ?# R' ?- a7 \2 C$ w
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. ; i7 f2 O2 r% ~$ {% P* V% w9 I
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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. 1 r$ T. F- q0 R& m
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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.
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% m8 E. e7 V Y9 p! y. `, a4 j& SIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 3 o# j9 o" I7 H+ D; t1 A% r5 |
* g( H6 I4 }( ^, Q3 R: H6 aIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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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. 0 K4 {- {5 L$ I6 L2 H
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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0 ]3 A; |7 f1 a7 W6 I8 R“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. 0 B* `6 B0 h9 N$ x' @
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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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( `$ u* [ Y! r& s6 bThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 7 N' Q' P& C3 K8 g4 g$ w
* \( ~) h# u% g+ P2 R/ p- t7 k“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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Sumner said the province’s strong natural increase was partly due to its population having the lowest median age at 35.8, compared to the national average of 39.7.
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2 `0 @( U4 \) U; m3 |1 A; i“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ) {1 W( K2 Y; W7 g6 P8 B7 L
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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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