Running back to Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Regina ...

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
1 |' l# r, i" IPublished: Friday, March 30, 2007
# ^0 F7 _9 ~$ ZEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
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6 V2 g2 t  i) }- n! E' f! q1 rFor the first time since 1996, more people are moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan than the other way around. It's part of a slight slowdown in Alberta's population growth, which is still increasing at four times the rest of the country.

According to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.

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"This is a good batch of numbers," said Roy Schneider, spokesman for Saskatchewan Industry and Resources. "We were bleeding so many people to Alberta for such a long time I'd be happy to see (a net increase from Alberta of) two.

" G. T) Q5 O  a# E% p% GFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.

Even in the third quarter of 2006, Saskatchewan experienced a net loss of 994 people to Alberta, and the province launched an ad campaign, extolling the better life of Saskatchewan in billboards popping up around Edmonton.

Statistics Canada hasn't tracked who these people are, but Crystal and Cam Hamilton, who moved back to Regina at the beginning of the year, might be typical.

; }4 K' V  k! @8 kCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
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' @8 s& H$ H. s& F0 i) t. `There were no jobs in Regina in his field, so he stayed in Edmonton to work. Crystal followed him here and they married, eventually buying a house in Lymburn in southwest Edmonton.

% I: ~, T. c+ w( U1 s4 rAfter having their son Brady, who is now 11 months old, they decided it would be nice to be back in Regina with family, and that became possible.

5 v  W9 c7 X3 j& W"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.

  t; m- Y0 W* W2 W/ c0 a  o% {They ended up with a tidy nest egg from the move and managed to pay off their debts. The Edmonton house they bought two years ago for $157,000 got them $306,000, and they built a new, larger home in Regina for $190,000.

; F1 h! d0 D& C" Z- @) E% H"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.

+ @' ^! @( Q! w: R5 x- y$ y+ i7 Q"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."
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Vicki Delnea and her husband Rod had similar reasons for moving to Regina from Calgary -- the difference in the cost of housing enabled them to pay off their mortgage.

"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
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9 |  R+ c& x4 K, p, W8 L2 NWhile she is from London, England, Rod was originally from Regina, and it will be great for her three-year-old, Joshua, to know his grandparents, she said.

Rod, who works in marketing, was able to keep his job and is working out of a home office, which saves him a 40-minute commute.

"Everybody thought we were crazy moving here because there is a stigma against Saskatchewan. When we told them Regina, they said: 'Why?' We said: 'Why not?' "

So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.

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Frank Trovato, a demographer in the sociology department at the University of Alberta, said it's not surprising to see more people moving to Saskatchewan after such a long period of net outflow of people to Alberta.
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"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
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There are likely a number of factors at play, including the lower cost of housing and greater economic opportunities back in Saskatchewan, but there were probably a number of people who found that Edmonton didn't provide the opportunities they were hoping for, he said.

"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.

& c! B5 J0 x0 n) qTerry Hincks, a Regina city councillor and realtor, said Albertans are buying a lot of homes in Regina, either as revenue property or to eventually be their place of residence.

"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."

Real estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.
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3 z9 C  N+ x+ Z4 l: `7 Mmsadava@thejournal.canwest.com
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. A2 D1 u- T2 q) _# T" JAGAINST THE TIDE

No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

' w  k' X% \9 w8 a# T; p5 ^No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710

3 |9 u! b$ w# z- W' j" oNet loss for Alberta: 128

+ ?: K, E% P/ K$ E* s2 ?Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800

* r7 W/ u3 t" `0 v5 LNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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0 Y% \8 N% T+ [4 ^Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent

+ p. Q3 a1 W1 y% g0 OPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent
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$ Q( A, P8 Q1 K$ b- M# b3 r- zPopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
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Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006