 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses/ w }4 E/ p4 E9 U# k6 A7 r
From Today's Edmonton Journal* y5 D5 I7 h* T8 i. {
' Z9 [3 s; D3 k' k* |0 k
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ; k* _3 r6 i' Z( D
$ x4 s( U4 S" ? b; J0 C, V
From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
( g7 l) D4 Q: m. Y+ ^- [- k5 ~
* H# \, X2 j3 g9 l" K2 KThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. 0 Y1 _ v' j) u* ]4 p
; X9 h! B& P0 X; f3 K, DOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that.
# H7 d& d8 e6 C7 V, M+ r
7 D+ E0 Y! o/ R. N/ s6 {& m# {3 m+ H1 ^Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
* e6 a8 \$ L, f6 G4 @- P. e. L) ?7 F1 h3 Y' M8 c
It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. " z' k' `9 t9 T: q0 C: I, O* r4 ]& ^
* a' L4 r( c+ l+ B5 e
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. , ~- p! h/ J- w
$ H/ O: {' ~' F" o4 lATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. ( p( U' q( k2 w9 p% J+ }
7 i) u0 D; ^& C4 M+ ^* q, v# _: ~
“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. ' }" H1 Z* h- }/ s
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 0 |/ ^7 \5 F7 E( R
1 ]& x: Z! M& v9 I# O* I+ L“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.”
) d4 n8 ]- |6 T8 r7 R" d7 m" r# V! c* Q$ `* [5 t
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. 8 Z1 s) }6 O, g# `- C% z, d
- K& ~$ g$ z7 f, M+ s; o0 @Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
9 k5 y- d( ~. w- S$ \' b% x6 N
9 a4 J3 K9 q7 MThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
' B/ v7 |( L3 R' b- ^6 p) |& n5 T3 n2 g3 M: ^+ L
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
9 S+ G# V& k6 V
# Y0 Z7 W" w1 \' WSumner 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. * m/ N. w$ g9 r# y2 p; N; Y, H
9 f+ c' l1 m' r) A- b
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
# r- A1 Z! _$ {8 u& z0 N' u/ V
( ~) Q/ c2 `- b2 U3 eAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|