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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses$ x, _. d8 f4 i. u, t- A" k7 Q
From Today's Edmonton Journal% k: C W @' j, F
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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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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/ @- L. f5 Y' V4 T! W6 z! N8 SBetween 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.
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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! W6 ?3 }3 g) t, o" T7 _8 KATB 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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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. * F: G: c* g1 M
“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.”
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3 ^; _4 Q& u6 ~1 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. / J' j7 V9 h% P- y( l) Z/ Q [
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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. 5 U( t1 e+ ?4 B; n L0 j
- D& n( l& H" EThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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( W$ f& P1 n9 f' R; M6 g- G5 e“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 9 n( r9 w: r, `4 S. P& ?
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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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; C! u! d5 n0 j' v“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. : A4 H V; H3 I* J3 P/ R
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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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