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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses1 W9 y. M, _! I; a, g/ t: q" |
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ( i: s, q% _ a* [% S8 w
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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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& Z V" D, X, b8 y$ ~9 WOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. . V' k4 O* R" A) l5 V m
# ?+ D4 @% E& i5 I7 lBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. * L$ h$ a2 p9 f1 D$ c7 a
( K% F8 g0 L/ A* FIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 8 L4 ?- N; B- A$ g; w8 T! ]
" ?% q$ @$ Y- C, hIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. / V+ x5 n1 R+ q7 x7 a- \
+ V/ c6 J8 p! T* ?5 L; e/ ?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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9 Y) c" m: i% C6 s3 ^- k7 M) @“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. 6 _$ J( I" h# R4 x, y+ i# T+ H
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 9 W# [0 _% F9 Q; D
* |6 q8 K8 b# ]5 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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0 @. I* m, P7 ABut 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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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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7 p6 l/ V2 a% x) ?8 \) _That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. - @* Y: x% a2 E1 J# J
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“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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/ R" w( M# W- z, s* Q/ i* X/ w“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. % F% D% p) T Q, ]; b b' G0 v
* b! P Q" t" xAs 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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