 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses* x7 p8 b0 ?3 g
From Today's Edmonton Journal
3 P v* H; F% a1 b7 G/ {7 Z- ]% o7 b( w/ k' [* S
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. * k6 N5 x$ w% @$ k4 s$ g# R( j
6 V$ e( M9 u1 C/ Q+ fFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
2 N, o8 z. B8 g$ a7 S5 Q' _3 T# z% E( m" q
That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
% |! { ` F: x# L7 Z- c# e* U/ E1 H, S! ?1 Z. x& b
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.
1 F: G B8 O/ J0 i" r
% O; R+ m3 L, P6 TBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
6 g( n- t- c! S; z6 J" A) G; m5 v
! E# v, E+ C9 r/ V( m& eIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. % t( V6 F& J0 F' M: ^5 y5 U2 e( ~
6 ~1 K$ T. l T7 \
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. 5 g3 @; \8 w+ T7 N% A' P0 b
( `+ | H$ i4 F! F' }ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
* ]6 G9 B8 l2 v
- m' |2 B& f; t1 Q! p `0 S“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
2 Y) Z& a" `, S+ B; d; x“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
4 O S4 t4 W9 v/ b. ?6 l
! X) h' U( P9 k: Q( A! ]; Q' [. u“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.” ) t+ Q7 z4 F8 w4 ?6 B) ^
+ i$ g; A* |) t* Q1 K# b, U/ E
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. 3 [( i2 V+ Y, p
8 z& T1 ~: e7 ^: T: Z9 nStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 9 v$ ]3 \8 o3 D6 R* m5 a. b7 S
" o% y( Z2 I5 F( X/ |( w0 PThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. 7 z& | G( `: j
c( n- w; A. [6 ^6 \' m“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
1 A' L \2 E3 x% R O) L7 {% |. J& g; F( t4 n
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.
+ S9 d8 N0 M, o! s: Y/ j, w' s$ m) X, ]. V5 [2 L( r
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ! g4 C, d* @+ w2 p ~
! Y0 p# C' H/ |: ]# s3 S
As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|