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

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
' a: i9 C- q* CMike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
* Z& i# A0 o2 M, T& l" u0 lPublished: Friday, March 30, 2007
: v* t0 C' v1 X% }+ K& wEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.

# L$ ?8 x3 U9 M1 e7 ^$ c/ jFor 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.

( @# F# _+ Q/ U# G' AAccording 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.

  _; y! T* e: Y0 D/ y8 [' O" UFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.
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- ]# J% e- }/ c3 |7 P1 O. Z. \/ t% GEven 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.
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9 ^4 C4 ^' l# O4 @- @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.
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. z% {; W3 D3 F" c3 m% F" }Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.

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.
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/ `- Y/ r- Y! }7 z+ {After 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.
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"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.

% Y$ p, M1 d9 Z' b- M: `/ H7 C; \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.
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"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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7 P6 U  y2 }  I4 F' EShe said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.

4 u/ j5 s6 `8 {; J4 y, R' {" `/ g"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

, [( k4 }: m" [5 yVicki 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.
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# h  x* I( j( o4 X"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.

# N- }3 ]2 ?+ R: M7 q8 w, aWhile 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.
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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.
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  t# Q7 y8 j- U"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?' "
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2 f- ^6 O2 G$ \3 |2 q- `+ }: pSo 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.

"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.
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6 q6 ~/ b0 q8 Z  H: X- l0 r3 z"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.

7 }' z( ~0 w# q: j) P0 n  E# ITerry 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.

, z! W# k: L# T5 W1 N"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."

  g+ `$ B! K4 _( NReal estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.
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msadava@thejournal.canwest.com
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5 G0 v$ ?& x4 |% t2 v. f/ G# wAGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710

! h2 m- P: g1 e% `Net loss for Alberta: 128
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Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
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Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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0 e* G6 y1 o7 zPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

% R- I* u) U" z' |Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
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Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006