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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
- g9 @# i _! A% PFrom Today's Edmonton Journal) F# X; [) p) e1 @) R; x9 P
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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- T9 W- h3 G2 z5 ~2 v5 @From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 0 }% F( F0 J' n. o
3 D; k. r, V& O" Q* M2 t. k4 v! F( UThat 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. % w& a6 L, T, [) I
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. X# _$ I2 G6 Y( @
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. / i& ^* n) X, s2 V5 ?& F
0 Z& V8 L7 G& q# a9 g' DIt 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. . y1 c9 b/ M0 `: ^( e
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. * c. ~2 P% \: y
“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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( D$ l# T( K8 s; I4 HBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. : C# k3 g% z N' Q- r8 T' B
V8 A0 x: g) KStatistics 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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s" ?) k" C W# i. [2 a& v, GThat 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. ( @, X( S# w$ m* o+ B
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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. ]6 D- M0 p9 O$ K& D& y/ Y' @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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