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

smalltown

Saskatchewan lures Albertans
! G5 L3 L- a; V! F1 K% G: zMike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
( e& J8 E! J9 X8 i" a+ BEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
4 f  q1 y, X- d
& I. _6 x. I' a: bFor 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.
% t+ O. N. D, X, S; c
( [- k# h# ^, @& C- p6 CAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.

1 {* n. d9 u& e1 Z

0 O7 R, N$ U+ I"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.

. c: O0 m8 ~! ^5 W. ]) EFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.

, x2 H, y) k* p4 b, ~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.

1 X  I1 P, v, j9 _4 FStatistics 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.

' I6 Y" ~. v4 YCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
4 E% u; c$ o& W2 k
There 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.
; x! _0 {' l4 Y3 c9 l1 L
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.

- F) q# z, y% z) d' m, W: b"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
2 h0 U$ k! Z8 [
9 ]1 G& `) k  X9 x2 a7 SThey 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.

"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
. |/ D! B6 K4 y0 z4 N) b/ {
  c4 d( p' R* t. DShe said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
5 \. X6 G8 X- z/ G
) j4 F1 L- Z, t6 u' B9 x" _$ e"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

Vicki 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.
. X6 [$ J# r6 ^
7 f+ D: E; w. k# J0 \! j! S"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.

0 Y$ x" k1 _- v* g- Q8 q5 ^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.

! d% k& B- w7 b, V' w1 q, f+ }, B1 ORod, 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.

"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?' "
+ f- K! ?7 Z7 s2 |5 j
So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.

) a) |$ o& p7 Q
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.
1 N$ ~! z! r. M+ d% t8 R
"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
2 B/ l7 [3 ]) i
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.
0 n8 o/ V& m1 \% v' n
/ w9 T0 Q( u2 I$ L* i"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.

4 U" ^* `5 b' ^& d4 B2 {) kTerry 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.
& T5 r6 I8 q; O* s
"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."

- C6 S1 X; i- ^% s# I- SReal estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.
- O+ Z) P$ b0 v5 ~$ n$ V3 y; q& R+ a
msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

. ?, G4 Z3 X- {# p) UAGAINST THE TIDE
. a5 }% j0 `! A( V2 Z: P
( t0 @. n! j4 k- E* s9 s- p( W/ iNo. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
9 A( k' X0 V% b
No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
0 q# e. @3 L; K, m6 \; w7 W
% w- X6 r9 f3 \) v3 W+ ?7 K3 MNet loss for Alberta: 128
5 R* @) [7 O7 h3 c: G4 p
Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
" z* m9 }: b. s& ]/ }
+ b5 p! ]. ^' Y0 ^1 UNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
  T; z. K3 }4 d2 t
Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
% k" |$ H. _; r( d5 t4 E; o5 I- \
Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent

9 R/ B0 c, f& n  j( qSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006