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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses( Q `( k: _ u" q0 ]5 q9 A
From Today's Edmonton Journal" v# _ g% o2 ^0 q. V# p% }5 P
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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: I: i: c" B* g! M, Q8 |; v9 B; ~From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 0 L. d; P& G, s" w% Y- u! q7 ^# w
5 _) A9 x* c7 H. YThat 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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! l, A! U1 B [: @: ] nOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. ! I* i' w* S( D' D. n! Y
7 R/ I3 G: ~' O3 f- A, uBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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7 `- F& i5 F R9 O- cIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. $ H+ d8 i# p: }6 l- I
; D* v7 D( o* X8 bIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. 3 C M9 E( x- ]
! `2 o% n3 T* L2 a5 Z7 wATB 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.
1 n1 a* f% u, J' Z4 R' v# s: X! G5 B“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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/ O/ I3 o) }( h# d% R“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.” / _1 C5 I, x8 t9 m9 v" y9 H4 y
. C9 h4 s, M7 o9 VBut 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. . I8 z8 I4 _: h! L" `! l3 H
! x& ^, }' p" z3 p5 x. ?That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. ( E* X0 M w0 H* I
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. % ~% S9 f0 T+ D4 c: r
3 Y9 [2 D% o# W8 {- [. l: @0 h/ 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. ( i' ]7 Q% U( h- A/ n& N; Z+ Y
, L! Z2 E8 |7 q4 i4 V6 k/ F1 S, f“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 8 }7 g' R/ ?, o; n$ g
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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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