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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
2 d- e$ I2 `) Q. A+ a) fFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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: @) R+ E6 c; T- @0 FMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 9 i3 `( Q' C3 J; }0 b `) g b
8 k6 A% s4 \. b1 gFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. ! M& ~, }5 V" o- y0 A7 k% ^$ s* q3 i
' ~& S& @" Y; m' D* s: ?) y. eThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. W# Q) [1 L. i' W
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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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* D! }. e9 P* d. aBetween 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. / X* X3 J7 r* c3 v$ h
% f6 z$ \( u% A& v) uIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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1 i; _6 }* E5 }7 R' iATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
$ P5 [0 z9 B. r* c“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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8 s+ \7 E; r( M9 f“During the mid-decade, unsustainably strong job prospects drove migrants to Alberta from all corners of the country, although this trend reversed course quickly during the recession.” 7 c' [( ~7 V7 N8 o7 A* K. D
& j+ t. u6 c- q2 sBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely.
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& @: B; ]; k# c3 P+ z/ f3 UStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. / \) b, b# ]; t' V: I
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. # z) a3 t$ w$ |9 r) P* ?3 ]
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. ) }( _" G1 c9 p l _) i- I( L0 f
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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. + k' h B7 J7 n
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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- V4 {" e6 Z$ J" L+ pAs 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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