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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
% @6 \3 c4 u8 c5 A4 a7 f. jFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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' E8 Q8 A1 R: Y# B2 tMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 3 E6 y' D. s$ E: z" @3 T
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 9 Y8 e+ h/ e8 ^' w5 y8 V' R
6 f' N, w: c% Q1 H P; g; PThat 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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' X8 u* D) s2 }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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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. ' V7 Z2 {! o' h$ a8 n9 o8 m: j
" i! n" x9 W% q0 }It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. / y! e1 |) [" \0 T8 z- `
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. * f: W6 {" ~. R. G
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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.
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. * |- A6 T) f" ]( B g7 V" z
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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# B! X* p" r0 c4 p' X9 R, U( G“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.” ; a, t' L+ U4 A# Q9 [8 s( V" S
9 F& W. d, o! P* ]' l `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. 7 V3 t- f' e% H( Y
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Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 7 J! J G6 S. S5 s/ [
5 d% u; {# @- [5 @, |5 ^That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. " Q1 D1 P$ j, E0 |! u& S. f
. H3 f1 Y* W, ?3 v9 H“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. / I L0 d2 v$ [* F
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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.
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' Z( }1 F* X0 \. G4 I; O/ _3 m“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 0 i& i2 `+ Y1 J' f/ b! x
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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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