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Saskatchewan lures Albertans$ u$ ]4 Y5 N H, Y- w
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal# {; m+ b" E- r; ~3 ^
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
$ M6 P* i2 Z& R$ u9 tEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
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( k" e# P9 E: R1 e/ `0 |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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3 N1 _, G9 N5 f) R0 [According 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.# t- m3 d( d! s& | U0 p
2 g! V6 `0 [# l6 c+ w/ n6 FFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life./ Q3 p, ]2 W0 P/ k K. `5 N
+ @) E. o* t0 r- k$ z1 h, P. t8 m& PEven 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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: ?& J' E! _ b) fStatistics 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.- l/ R% q4 c0 e6 ]' l
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Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
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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.+ A3 W3 p7 x+ ]3 }' D
, V/ }" a1 j* J5 m6 _; L"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.' X$ R& K; W2 ]9 @% @
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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.) V- R/ {4 F3 ?! G6 ?
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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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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.) T' j* W/ X; p g0 \8 _3 ?
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"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."0 Q/ g1 u# j1 [# E; s
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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.2 ?& F: _1 ~. N) M0 p7 O' X' O* T
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"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
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9 u, l" {4 L; c5 c, B) qWhile 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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"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?' "* t2 T, i" _6 y
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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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0 f, S6 O, o/ ]: M1 a1 D3 L: ?6 fFrank 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.
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"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.( U, ]& E/ ]! |6 Q" c% a. g; t
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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. k+ @& l0 K' a2 ~
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"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
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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.* C) }) u3 u# t
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"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."1 d d% X9 V8 l8 l8 g
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Real estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.' e6 Z! }7 q: X7 E: c7 s
1 k: E3 ]& b" x) _3 Tmsadava@thejournal.canwest.com
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AGAINST THE TIDE& u, D- b/ t) x* L. ~8 N
: N$ X3 M' l) Q9 A+ T" jNo. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,8387 M+ Q: y& ?. _1 R* u' W
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No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,7103 e# X8 D) n2 }! U2 C
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Net loss for Alberta: 128
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Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800. w) e, Z% ]% R% j& c
( F. M' w4 J( |# q' lNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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2 H! s" W: ^3 ~6 W& xPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent/ x Q) P! b% p. G7 D5 X6 m
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Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent2 w1 l- P" N2 E& a' F' y- Z
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Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
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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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