 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses6 D( R2 Y& ]7 }- b5 T' \1 G
From Today's Edmonton Journal3 i; ~9 F, N1 m4 M4 H. `
" q8 v% @7 x3 s: c3 n* x1 RMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. / o; _8 d$ M( s
+ `. d& j) [/ v& A* G* u8 ]8 t6 h' i6 aFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. # i( T; Y; {! L1 y M2 \ h
$ T( k! ^' f5 R& {: |
That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. @. E7 E( |" l7 |' L* G6 J
0 m e: _6 v: ^! d) s! ~
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.
" O. h d- C6 @0 p
( V! Q* w& X5 R) r$ iBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 4 z* ~# m9 @; }2 f. q; `" V
0 S. q. F$ }% U3 {3 _# U( j8 yIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
! f9 D1 V$ W* i: w! Y8 |" {8 q9 i6 z1 o: R; S; l$ Q& A
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
) z2 R s- c' Z' n" X6 m5 _; H: g7 ^
ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. , L! Z- L3 ~+ D4 H$ K6 z
m0 @0 l+ G3 m/ v& u“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
! E" s+ Z8 P! J6 ]( N3 j“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
6 T7 N; \8 q8 Q" U* T3 b2 W7 f0 K; X& j# |
“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.” * ?- u& u) }6 u0 I9 |
# l" k9 k. Y5 \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.
" `. u* j d0 ]# U% V; E: z8 j: U! ]+ J
Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 2 [$ c, R' G$ @8 `! m4 A8 N
' A- B' ?4 N0 U/ O3 k0 bThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 5 K: l1 A5 u: R3 ?
" w6 l9 o2 Q: z/ @+ H$ }. Q- S/ E
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
+ J4 g5 _9 _ w- d5 F! I- e' Z+ c# i5 L P
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. 0 h3 |; J! y9 A% Z
% Q/ g# o3 v, l( ^) V
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
- z# f8 r+ a8 a- `5 E R0 P3 m4 M
As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|