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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses: G% R9 \4 e* ~* w& a2 B# |, H7 o
From Today's Edmonton Journal Y9 m, w- {# S: k; h& z" i% U
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ! S5 M( W: q; m1 V
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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0 o0 ]4 Q7 Q2 s% f' sThat 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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0 i+ I5 w5 x( PBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 5 X# A+ v! F9 b: L: L1 N
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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. ! n% ]5 r: p) h- V- J2 I6 |
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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. ' M, J2 n3 S' J. t9 }8 F; i
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
, P e0 K: m$ R; F“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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6 K' s, e r, l1 O“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.” 0 l8 z5 c& r+ O8 j2 X4 O% h& N7 b7 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.
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0 H2 ?9 d: \. Q3 M+ OStatistics 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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; k- G. }9 ?! R/ KThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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' O4 E) x; a/ d8 x& b“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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+ k5 B. G1 w0 A0 a% v- F1 `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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7 E* A& Y, P* d$ B“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. / l$ v- }5 V m* D( r
- j: Y2 t2 M" w9 dAs 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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