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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
6 I) c$ d. c* OFrom Today's Edmonton Journal. D$ h( k% i- `8 t4 z+ ]8 X
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 1 y" G+ b* {- Q# \- A/ b
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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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.
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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% u1 S1 G( C; e* pIt 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. }% ^" O; W ]3 A+ W
8 G' b, v3 Y+ n2 aATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. : C( L. ~* ]; O" h
- @8 I1 B! \/ r8 x D“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. ! f) n2 W/ [- X8 K: p
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 1 F9 n; ^ U6 @ h9 n
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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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- e9 v0 t! A1 ^& i/ ]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. 0 G4 k8 l9 @" m2 F
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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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“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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/ \, r5 x# J7 C/ {* B5 M“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 9 Y; a0 O# }* x. w; ~
' \& O" y9 _& Z1 i- _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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