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Saskatchewan lures Albertans4 m6 H6 G8 g3 X' c8 K/ r
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal- M/ j \4 K4 o
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007) A4 W1 W, c! r% q9 n9 t& C" z
EDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.; H$ y: F5 P" z6 c' D, J2 }1 \
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For 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.
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9 }9 v+ Q+ |: m, s$ Z& Z2 r0 t8 fAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
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/ N/ R, P. Y+ X5 i"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.
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! Z* E/ S' D$ v7 JFor 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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; A/ z8 b6 ~5 h1 Y/ JEven 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.- u4 v, A: `* W8 }& D6 q
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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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Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.$ Z/ F7 g3 `) d A% y- h
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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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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.. O4 B3 ? W- }- I9 J; i" @+ ]
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"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.- ]) M h R ~8 W/ n
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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 $190,000.
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% y% L v! P1 G0 R! K"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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9 l, m2 e+ j5 ]5 l1 }4 _& y YShe said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
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" Z, b9 h( v0 T2 S"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."
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Vicki Delnea and her husband Rod had similar reasons for moving to Regina from Calgary -- the difference in the cost of housing enabled them to pay off their mortgage." s D3 \2 [) ^3 s
8 [+ s+ |0 F. _( K"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said. r6 `& k9 e/ z% f: b
: ?: b4 }/ X& f3 M8 k5 lWhile she is from London, England, Rod was originally from Regina, and it will be great for her three-year-old, Joshua, to know his grandparents, she said.
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$ V3 n; ] [4 C* |/ ]6 v% `2 yRod, 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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: Y. q" T9 ^3 b; |"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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So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
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# `$ c: P/ `* D! P( l! W+ I6 HFrank 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.: v1 C" s: ~9 C
$ N: E$ d% n N! \( V"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.8 O/ \+ ?5 e! i/ e
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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 C% c1 n3 B+ V"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.5 C# K& c: }7 Y8 s8 v
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Terry 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.# \/ H b9 k3 v9 H0 w# w2 J) x
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"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."* N4 q! Q$ v. j; e- w: t
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Real estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.; Q) b" b! G: s3 i* I- j3 m) q
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msadava@thejournal.canwest.com+ j! y. m1 m' @( d; O
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AGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
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+ z* n" d$ j, P7 F, n! \" o- aNo. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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Net loss for Alberta: 1285 c9 O$ }) {+ c0 ^/ h/ b8 x S; N
* U" w0 u- F, d( HNet 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: 17,1008 M# C) D- B$ A8 N0 M b6 z
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Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent$ ?% D2 M' l& s% e4 e" |$ H/ C) V
* h [, v7 k5 j" @* z; g5 PPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent: Q7 } J4 p" X# ~7 l) G' y
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Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent. }$ d! b- r6 l# J
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Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006 |
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发表于 2007-3-30 07:39
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