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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
) E7 K8 S, ^; \5 k s, KFrom Today's Edmonton Journal: V; q. H8 a2 d' S8 i. a
, x6 e. G" ~! r6 WMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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D: I5 V% B$ i ?From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 3 E: H$ g9 k* h
; j! o3 ?' U3 X5 I3 n; {3 ZThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
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) y* ^/ F' z( b% ] yOnly 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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8 C; q8 S/ u/ X( f2 \Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 0 h4 q5 E- S, A7 W) U% a3 z8 }3 M
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 1 @: \9 u/ V! j9 z! X v
. O I- a; }1 GIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. ! C1 o2 S3 n3 u1 R
) q+ B, G& ~2 e/ C# cATB 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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- N ?7 b! Y4 v+ t“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
1 _" {, J! p9 G9 H& ?7 _' n“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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6 h% C. C2 m0 F: m6 c8 p9 h$ H“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.
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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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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 1 Z0 y6 x* M% \5 H
8 K: l4 Q8 P, ~) M0 X4 B9 u& @( w“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. . m2 I/ y9 H5 c7 h0 B/ W! M( v
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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. 9 _* R6 B) F j5 y1 `
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. 9 j; x! | h% D2 c1 y+ m% S
+ F6 h; w5 u. f/ o! _ BAs 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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