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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses* Q! b0 V# ~8 R
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 7 y1 S: x P4 `" J
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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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.
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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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0 e! w9 X0 g, ^8 `& c6 Q3 E; o. p5 ^- ]It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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7 H7 b% C7 j9 M8 d) P& dATB 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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: x" E% o9 R1 U& p# L }“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
( k/ d/ K n d- u! ^% K8 w“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ! d# A9 o- F6 j8 \5 ?: X
* S% l& H' m, G% T“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.” ( X0 f x0 [ s8 E8 {( }
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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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& b1 a& C7 D3 i' b% U$ gStatistics 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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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 9 @2 i6 m; @9 U ?. O) F3 S2 ?2 _. o8 q" R
_& [6 I, |5 D" O: @0 R& b“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 5 }! w$ Q6 i2 v& E5 c3 ]- x- U
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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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" O! I; }4 J0 p! }0 a1 ~“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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