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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
) v8 i: l7 |- w4 S) iFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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4 b3 }* M! F; U( p" a6 N3 B# _& V$ OMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 8 I$ i: J! @4 j+ d+ N" G
& {* m) l; l) ]5 s4 L0 T+ iFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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) M& H& {& x$ _' F O4 G: V' E; X8 qThat 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. 7 N; q9 P5 e! D1 L
& R0 o) e; l8 DBetween 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.
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& ?, M# ~/ u* o1 L pIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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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. 0 ~# _) n8 z$ l2 C
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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7 B' E6 h; I- Q( D“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.” ! l) @2 ]5 k$ A6 N- R" Y
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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.
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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. 4 W% E3 `% A+ Y4 p& n& B @
8 y; J0 b/ Z/ r" f# y% Z7 y! BThat 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. : u# D; U5 v5 k
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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. 3 j/ o5 K5 U' Z1 a
- [4 ]& w& x6 X“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. . R x6 N# V! I% z: T8 U
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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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