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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses4 e4 W4 {7 j) C; q2 J l
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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) q2 B ?# C* e0 n1 l6 yMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ; L$ s# _. b6 H- u4 c8 i5 R/ \$ G
8 g1 X# _+ k6 Z( n; y# [From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 7 Q4 x0 W6 \3 ^
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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. 5 K2 ~6 F" L( |. g) Y! R2 L
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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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! s- e7 K Z/ V. ~: JBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. / S J! X8 Y5 L% q' |9 b
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. . {: h: g* \' y3 f
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. ) u' D. e+ t: Q9 ^+ @: S
! y/ J( q. ~3 X/ sATB 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.
8 {( B ^3 c1 ^1 k; F% S“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 3 Y9 I; u, E5 U& l% q
9 L% z& `( H7 Y5 S ~# d“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.” 7 D+ g' W0 Z Z* `7 g
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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. 6 T( E: \. s5 A; @, v0 ?
6 {0 m4 D h* Z; pStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 2 h+ Q+ k( {8 Q, x/ {% ]# c
# J* q: ]9 @4 t( iThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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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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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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- K$ W* B# A( j6 C6 yAs 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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