 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses/ R% ?$ f4 a3 {$ W4 {
From Today's Edmonton Journal: d/ d3 R+ Q. q: x! I6 h: W
) j: I. G3 O# I6 C+ M3 kMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
+ B$ z2 _/ W4 R* O& j9 q7 m
0 c o7 j# Z, K! Y$ `4 X- |% IFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
" G1 }+ x7 d) z( A+ h7 G2 k; }
, t! u. Z% i0 H" Z7 H/ R8 TThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. * n+ k% Y+ v# S6 X) P1 w
% N6 E" @, k- r3 [6 Q
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 Z& i. w9 `4 b1 U
! `$ _. n% S# X3 A' |! a- ~3 nBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
$ _ |2 m5 l8 h' e/ n' S; h" c, L( N/ n/ n
It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. u4 j" x7 i! X6 v6 `
2 G$ {9 N/ z4 k. k3 c9 J* y9 G( l
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
/ i5 s& V( I; G
2 v! g7 a* ~ Y4 Y' [% r2 iATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
+ K* j9 h6 M2 C. L8 I' L
# ]% X3 h1 }$ N9 V+ S; J% a2 r“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
* F: ^6 E- N( `* s, ^' e( J( c“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 2 Y, x7 V5 w1 y0 ~( K6 S9 x
5 s8 g. \/ q- k, `
“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.”
' G) @2 O" ?: x0 g: E% t/ P5 W, J& q7 ~. _0 y0 M3 f
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. " I0 z, `. H6 t) Y0 G/ V
" C6 B+ ~3 i F- i: U" f w. q
Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. + ^/ x7 t1 j% h `8 O
; M1 ^( d2 A* ?0 h. {4 u4 E
That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. ; a0 X5 R2 u! R0 ^) O9 H0 x
' C `. D+ d3 q& {% Y6 C6 K“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. 3 k" {3 x+ q) Z. P
3 ~* [& h+ i; g5 q8 I+ { J' zSumner 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. : |( k% k- e$ ?+ n+ m% l
& N5 ]) D) |8 M; l/ }$ @“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
: R4 z" {/ x. ]3 U6 p, Q
4 s5 \& E* L9 b3 x; R+ }2 aAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|