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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
! }! k- d2 x. |From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. # M) @/ @+ G/ r! _6 S( i7 k [
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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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. l7 h6 T- R2 G1 J7 x$ oBetween 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. ! e) g- s5 i- c9 C4 n
8 ]* _, H9 |1 w4 R# ^0 h: j- K/ CIt 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. ! b/ V" o, r' x) u+ [; ^9 l
/ x8 |2 x1 F {“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
+ Y' ~8 L& H J& n0 [6 B$ f8 u“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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“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.” ) z) e. x9 B+ s, r
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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. 5 F2 j9 j2 S8 D& B9 N" Z8 R {
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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. $ g- P4 ], C) r% X
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. [, F9 w! f- q& [
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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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4 g; S* q" ^1 M1 s s' V' nSumner 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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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ; o" Q6 s6 D5 M1 p
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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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