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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses4 B/ N; M# O ~6 r o/ N
From Today's Edmonton Journal/ ]: k) [. W8 e# H( b. p5 J! \
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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6 Z1 W1 t9 e4 B, gFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. / K% N. w( O. O
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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. ! X6 U! C- E8 {! ]/ S$ p2 y
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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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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. + h/ I* { p2 J+ t( H
0 t- h% b6 ]8 M1 |0 _! _1 [It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. + q' o: ^; X: Y
4 i& ]0 t% u4 I& c L4 C' }# f' ^! iIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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% a7 Q% C$ f0 r! |% u) S4 Q2 @ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 3 f' k. M$ z: X4 |- M l
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
, j7 I/ z' m" V“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 4 V8 ~ ]" D% W
1 I2 i: J9 g4 ~( 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.” 4 G& h" G a' F$ [0 ]2 j
7 m: f q* n% ~5 N8 B* ]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. ) a9 }$ y* i- \# T- |7 V4 t
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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.
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$ m" Y. v& y* e5 i, YThat 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. " A% H8 O" O5 k
0 f8 F6 ^% h/ ~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 v, ^4 E- i- K) Y6 ~3 W
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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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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