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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses& U+ B9 M4 n/ S$ k8 R
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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# a/ l* ]) i+ Q4 gFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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2 {( `3 w1 u! C3 h1 |# V& U/ FThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
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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. u; ]0 [, _" E. h! [
( X$ F& j v3 CBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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9 s$ g6 g! a+ A& m$ ?1 h$ \9 yIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. $ w- j: q+ e! |9 t5 e$ ^/ Q
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 3 z" L& v; f2 q& I/ M1 ]
- \+ l, I( U( h$ x; Y6 g' i1 n“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
& `; n( x% ?8 }+ }! k* A- `3 Z“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ) S0 x- b" B, O. P. x
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“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.” 5 ^: k' s0 u! C0 G
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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.
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Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. , ~5 f) z6 _" h- Q8 p* s' h# H
; S/ P# s+ o0 A. o: I0 wThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. / c2 h# y2 v' V) d# c& Y+ x
" u6 ~! c/ z7 e* `5 U“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. : `/ s& ?) V0 F+ R( j7 @
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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.
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1 `- J9 _) A- D. ?9 X8 y“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
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