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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses1 x1 c( C& E# X _0 y6 t! N' q
From Today's Edmonton Journal* U; \5 ?* T9 O* Q/ U$ e' h
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ; B& ?! w" B3 v7 K. B! n7 F$ u" N
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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9 w3 Y: L% v5 |! d- V# w7 {& tThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 8 F! u, h, A% Q4 G
4 \: c. \/ E, `' r6 C _, m& O) uOnly 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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2 y9 W0 _% ~; A: D) ?It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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( n# ?, U- C7 k u1 Z RIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. 6 B/ s1 v+ J: `" |* K
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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.
! U' @- G k" D& p“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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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.” + W: B: p; i% I
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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. + m( Z8 C0 ]4 ?8 l# `: @
: C" |. f, u' T4 Z: A3 c( rStatistics 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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1 j8 T* h0 T0 ]% P7 T# M4 x6 G“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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9 C) {" r% u8 F3 YSumner 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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" Y3 N1 R6 T: M1 o$ I$ b# E“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ( }. Y; g2 G5 e1 }
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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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