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

smalltown

Saskatchewan lures Albertans
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
( {  g; m) w! F3 Q! JEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.

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.
4 _, r% V# Y3 D
According to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.

5 c! d) o, `2 M6 D3 q8 l

"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.
+ a5 q+ G, z7 L! V" R4 ^% y+ z* b
4 `2 e  g+ M; O' N* A6 xFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.
, U" u5 t" f) k# z9 f1 f/ d
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.
4 j, C$ r; {$ Y# Z7 M9 j- l
Statistics 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.

' x3 v7 D( {% e& i/ f8 k8 OCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
& D! y$ o( }7 v# o  R
2 C- z% @$ {. n1 U! S- }" {1 T% MThere 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.
5 Z+ [0 c2 M' U: k
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.
6 l8 @9 W6 b+ k- j; n: `8 Y7 Q
: T3 V- r; ~+ T1 K& [) Q4 v# {"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
- V& b& V  E& [- O
- |' d5 O: a7 \: [5 O8 ~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.
$ [* `4 A" U/ |% |8 f3 v! l
9 l2 x0 v4 o% E/ X"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
4 `5 b3 W7 M1 j) @
She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
4 [( J; C/ T2 X# p5 v" {
"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

6 ~3 S/ h5 Y+ I7 PVicki 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.
! M8 z% A" T6 _: K; p: r$ W
"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
, q! s, N2 ~# Q4 w
; Y/ Q8 `! p& n5 A2 }7 I9 ]While 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.

Rod, 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.

2 R7 I1 P  v3 V  Q! c' q"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?' "
( P- A, p& V8 r3 ?$ X" O$ e
So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.


Frank 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.
* y- l9 U; B4 A7 L5 b
3 \3 ?- m& `. y: a1 o& @9 X0 \7 M! ]"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.

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.

/ n+ j' N; T0 F! j"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
0 p- I; M& V: q
( D& M6 {+ W& G$ S% t( ~* 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.
, _" i; c+ c  D2 Y
- n" F# i/ s' f2 P"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
' }8 j8 N- E# {5 ?& e, w9 T- \
, B2 t4 S* B- a, m  KReal 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.

msadava@thejournal.canwest.com
7 U; j! W- G/ t9 ~8 T7 o6 t
! H5 L$ }# r) T! eAGAINST THE TIDE
. h, t: S7 @; b
No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

% v6 B  y# [1 z) n) SNo. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710

! X) r" `9 U& Q8 bNet loss for Alberta: 128

1 `$ _: ^. v  |0 L+ LNet inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
6 N7 F9 c7 S) \" ~( i4 ~. Z
1 m& R& s8 |; Z0 E, SNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
9 k, i$ t5 r" p# v- e$ \7 u# g
' T: [$ I5 Q7 W; z# Y& BPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
' m) Y! B7 x( a- T( u# \/ I
+ Q' Z* O2 h, }4 D4 o5 l7 }1 UPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
3 Z2 P& \" i1 |$ l  L1 `$ R; m9 P
Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006