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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses9 Z* \- S/ P0 N: j
From Today's Edmonton Journal$ J' Q& S& n7 h }" m
8 Z: n7 A, E7 k. \& vMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ' K B$ ^! x/ E8 s- K' `6 B4 _0 A. D
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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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. + D8 x! ?+ B# A$ A6 v/ I1 \
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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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, V! I+ S+ E3 Y. g) a; f- UBetween 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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& `, @2 Y3 J8 D" |) u7 `It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. ; T* ?5 X$ K3 b9 @' ^
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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. & c7 T- E F: }2 \
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 9 a% A, {8 c/ @
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“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. 9 d! i2 k6 n% `- E4 T6 y. G: ~
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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. ; W2 ?3 _4 b$ l6 T
Y9 R0 z( S4 B% l, aThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. $ u% ^$ Y% ]) y F" X$ @( D
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. a4 M# r. k/ b
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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. ( y d( ?- L( P, @! ~4 D
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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2 K: m$ w J, o2 P! e' rAs 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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