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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses3 Z `! f ]4 E2 L1 h2 a
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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6 B2 M) j2 s7 L" |, X# J- hMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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: M8 `3 @: q5 n& R' x- |8 s# B- f" ]From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. / n2 h( w2 ?' g. W- l/ t
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That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 6 g- x9 y% h+ t5 I0 |" [+ k3 ~
% F2 n) _% t7 b. P; XOnly 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. " k* F5 q7 ?; E$ Z' D
' x M; L# J4 ]& @3 i0 W" ^" qIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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" Y+ f9 ~! i- p$ ~( R9 bIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. $ i0 a2 m- {8 `- t2 c# @! m
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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.
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. & _; u. T/ i; W- ?) k
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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( c- ]$ I z8 n- F. x“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.” / C& R* u4 L. U
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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. 0 u @$ W6 l8 S' |! I6 b$ r' Y
. |+ M2 U, T' c& y5 e1 `Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
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. i/ N$ c; I% j+ a! sThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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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. 6 b/ j# ^; U# f0 `3 _
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ( d6 Q+ A b3 W M$ D
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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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