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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
( [% X" Z6 y' v G2 T q- WFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 2 E9 C/ T( Z; ]* l, H8 V
4 v8 L# T% {1 J0 F S. z( QFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. - x! b5 N' @: x; w5 W
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That 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.
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. " ^4 v0 t9 h% \( Z
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. $ L* q6 I) V8 R6 m& P& ~
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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. % W' P1 H- g! u& N- B. ]2 _
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
% s. }# P6 ]6 K; g0 \! c/ {% N* q$ G4 j“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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9 R' \4 o3 y6 S: l( z0 q“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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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. ' g$ O5 _; k* m+ t7 F
: N# B) G3 t6 m2 d/ `" z/ NStatistics 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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That 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. 8 }4 \. f7 o, F# ~6 T3 ?% Z6 U) R
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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. 9 _* @3 q, B% w$ A
9 y( r' h) Z5 ~2 K& W4 U& c“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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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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