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

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
! t" W4 b/ |( M- _; b5 ]5 qEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.

) c. Q" Q9 w" A9 }3 wFor 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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* a0 J: O  c$ q- w, r1 {"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.

) B/ S& N) d2 f3 Q$ s- k! XFor 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.

* m6 b) s2 v- t" b+ W- b! P8 WStatistics 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.
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Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.

There 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.
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After 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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"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.

5 X" u9 [% N8 `4 PThey 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.

+ ^  x! ]4 r& o. h. {* F1 b* H& d"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.

"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."
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$ h9 p6 b* y" w# L  q/ UVicki 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.

# G+ F, ?7 H. G. e"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
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While 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.

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.
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"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.
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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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"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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. g& o6 F$ @1 G4 V1 \( S. A! cThere 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.

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

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.
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msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

AGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710

$ i' l4 S/ Q9 q5 m, O2 DNet loss for Alberta: 128

Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
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8 C1 P5 }$ {  u; L' I, fNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100

Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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1 r& I: d  t! C+ S# uPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent

' }' v) y4 D  D% i5 hSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006