 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
2 ^1 Z% f2 j+ b, lFrom Today's Edmonton Journal" r% @$ g8 u) {: N
I) J% {0 C l
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
/ O5 D X6 d+ K3 B2 H( F J6 X9 U! W
From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. ) l% Z7 b; k" n3 `1 B8 z
+ a- W+ J, f+ e7 W8 K8 J
That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
0 v* m5 N" ]% |8 K: \
6 P4 t6 ]8 u# v% D; b: u1 zOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. 6 O ^5 n2 n2 w& R% g# Y
' Y5 c2 L0 |6 A* d0 y
Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. + w1 v& K' x0 P! A; k, _
. w/ u/ w8 x$ @! a5 J0 ?2 Q0 aIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
5 w; D) U2 O* W2 J+ ~1 {0 t; i+ o! \3 E
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
! m% H9 e- V, h' t& H8 e C# _3 n6 y) d" `0 R/ ^0 f# T6 e
ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. - o! J- u( ~, u% u/ w& B. k
+ O6 P( o5 l2 Z( k3 s! r“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
9 }* y! p6 E. G. i" n“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
4 O$ J4 f8 Q! T0 Y0 ]/ Y' _7 z- s6 v$ |, v, \
“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.”
& ]. }" a! T- j. b7 t& r5 P; O8 ]2 K; `4 I' B
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. 0 }4 f$ y7 C; q+ x: t4 z' U. g
% x6 X1 h! r% k7 U3 b( g/ HStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
" G' X- p/ q% `' Z; C7 l% n0 A+ l( H3 z6 O) k! f3 s; }9 `
That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 6 H7 A( G9 ?' h# y1 u
- @. X" x$ {2 e2 t4 s4 z
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
$ i: Z- Q7 P7 h$ \& w- {0 X$ o
0 s$ w _& D; [: t& U" A% OSumner 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.
, B8 R$ S: \5 i
: g& d3 E- {9 E: q/ B- x6 t+ N“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
: |; c9 ]8 y! d! [% g; b$ G5 J* v5 u
/ A1 A8 _# F6 c! V. r! fAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|