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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
. D. N" p& f/ M" \7 P/ KFrom Today's Edmonton Journal
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. k& m- q9 @' o6 ]7 D, VMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. . W3 Q" B+ i7 }3 n8 f9 g+ e: |
: ~/ ~ Q2 R; c* _That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 1 e& M8 `$ `9 e/ c3 {# n. d# p
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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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7 R* P4 U, I( s8 [6 UIt 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. 4 T3 f) @* V; }2 a" R8 g
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ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. * k4 N( K- P' p; D5 j; j
0 L, h; a3 d; O: a2 l q* D“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. ; l5 D; Q+ ^! Q
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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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. 8 H4 C% U" k$ K+ a$ u" G, \( Q
- N3 K$ l& [3 L0 F0 N+ p# I& y# MStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. ) ^% J9 u2 ~5 {
, g/ y% L" M' wThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. % _) }6 o6 F3 m6 I' A* N
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. ! x, N5 _ I* e6 W4 M% i) X Z
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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. , U0 K7 G6 H$ Z( Y0 ]
5 L' h' e0 M' M& l, A“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 7 r2 G% o2 h; g0 C
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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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