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

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
3 I/ u* Q# R  \; Z2 CMike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
1 b. `& Y  w8 O; [Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
; l+ {6 A1 [6 E8 O. cEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.

For 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.
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According to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
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"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.
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For years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.

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.
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Statistics 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.

3 V0 O4 l7 A& L& CCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
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$ ?9 l- }' b) ]: HThere 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.

% J2 c; M& U% g# [; CAfter 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.
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4 p4 J! k; F5 ?9 d/ X- I# H: x: N"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
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They 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.
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4 P& Z: n& ^# F" b& }! w"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
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"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."
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2 b9 @0 o0 e, e2 m& y1 gVicki 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.
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: Y  T. `' R+ j" G1 `"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.

8 \% {2 g0 H; {1 A% U& }7 C% q$ IWhile 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.
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9 g7 ~7 u0 O% @; J& _Rod, 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?' "
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So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.


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.
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- Y* d$ T& w% \8 S7 {+ r* V"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
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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.
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"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.

Terry 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.

"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
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Real 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.

msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

- ~4 i$ @6 v+ N# f# f# `0 HAGAINST THE TIDE

3 R# G( T1 w/ N  s! G5 ?No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
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No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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' O' a# o/ F& o* w3 Q+ |& I' RNet loss for Alberta: 128

Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800

. I7 q8 T# Q% @& \Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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5 d8 `( O- ]& QPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

! s  t4 J2 h5 b) y8 f; O% v) fPopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
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Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006