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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses7 L* N) I: [; O% r" U
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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1 Z+ Z8 ]; F6 LMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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0 E6 M" q1 U; l/ h/ c' K UFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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# {$ @9 G7 v( t8 UThat 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. % |, a* O, a/ H8 P
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. & n# P5 }0 V( [7 t+ n; B3 M f j2 y
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. $ J, U# H. A) n7 I! ], z$ T/ B1 D
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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! E- a6 N8 c% A" U2 C+ sATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. * @! E" _" z9 r- ^/ Z# i- ]) T
8 Y: b* w7 n; [" s“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
( \2 ^3 L6 C5 `% g“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.” : e3 x1 y6 d$ r" h* a
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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. : T- d, Q) X6 Y3 q7 L
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. / B, l& m/ V: S* p3 Y
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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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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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ( x% ^! g( `, h+ v. J& p
; F" C2 O0 b( G6 fAs 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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