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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses4 F: ^: T. [6 Y; z* W
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 3 m5 A! `; H. x& q( y
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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, n, P: }: e/ S0 y: c eThat 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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0 }$ M# i- _* C" DOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. , J; ?7 ^2 k0 L7 R" \: v( |6 O+ J2 p. X
. L# |. u' G: T) x; i$ X, {Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. * z" e& {" P# h* r3 z7 _
- y3 A3 N; ~ v" ~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.
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5 X v: a) T4 t7 ^' F o1 N7 fATB 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. 9 K1 ?0 _/ n f$ k* y- U
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ; {! g: C' i1 B" n5 V6 @" g) w$ H/ Y C8 v
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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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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. e# l- t# ]% E8 B
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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. ; y8 x2 v2 g! W/ ?( Z" o5 Y$ l
) I# t+ L& W$ N( rThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. - ~. f4 r4 e) U5 g) r
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. " ]& ]: ]+ j6 z) g, B
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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. , N# R7 o1 z3 b/ P/ i
# |% J+ e1 R, {! X1 q, X% X" Z1 |“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 2 I5 ]% X. |. y/ g
N$ p/ l1 T* Y- j9 d- mAs 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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