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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
2 h7 v, ~6 e. z- j0 M/ X$ dFrom Today's Edmonton Journal! ~) Z: I* Q, k6 F/ x+ b. G0 @8 J( \
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. / i7 m# x( C1 j* ^' I5 @
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 3 j) Y$ y, v3 b2 F9 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.
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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. 1 l2 k) `9 x8 J& \: w8 l
# q) K/ V G2 `' D3 Z& mBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. ( n# w) l- ^3 |; [6 Q
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. * S* e1 e, y+ m2 y, H1 G
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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. 2 q+ D5 V9 c7 c" ]6 h" L6 g( u
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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( l- c) o- N/ L3 o+ v) v# j# m2 \“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.” 8 t1 `* t! m5 Q& [( j# g
+ [# h' c p8 P4 T) o8 u4 wBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. ) K( l9 ?+ E' C& {4 U% `4 r' F4 y
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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. " h! E' H' V" q! f3 z! H0 Z
; u: |# D( W/ N# G, y8 r. OThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. " o! P! Z' G9 O! I
8 w: N6 v# K- U' [“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 2 L: _+ f- }: ]6 k
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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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6 ^, b/ F9 Q. G0 }& g3 G; Z. T“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 0 K# S+ g0 C9 q# F8 V$ x" E
- w* b; N% i* W1 M$ [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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