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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses# W: M7 H( k; i: P i$ p
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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5 V- c, P# X" B- i2 l' r3 S& UMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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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 F& ^1 U( G: K# ?, p# k" NThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. : M' T. |' o |5 I' L8 e
G0 l# v- a8 X9 n+ x6 y- F, 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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9 @1 Y0 d. T1 Y4 m8 Q4 yBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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' S# n6 }# h. y5 Q; j$ {It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. , X! N. U7 G2 H( ^- l) G6 Q* U- d
( J) X4 t5 Y- N' W. g) a- v5 X w/ UIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. * q% U+ C6 \+ C7 \2 ^
5 f V3 ~, }- {: b3 ~3 hATB 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.
0 Y d) n* c& o“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ) Q) D# Q1 o- p( g4 ]
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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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! y! y% D) Q* p" B* SBut 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. * O" F" _2 C+ S# l- \0 |
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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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4 f1 Q0 L. l# v“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. 7 {( S. l7 P0 A, M- J+ p
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. : q/ Z) w+ g" I: p4 |* t3 o& X
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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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