ZT - Running back to Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Regina ...

ZJDX

Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
, @8 ~% I( c3 U" }" QPublished: Friday, March 30, 2007

9 I+ [  ^+ p7 z, d5 p% {' BEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.

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.
5 `9 s* o. y( Y  r
( o& F. v+ r, q4 h+ HAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
) n; D7 C  ?3 Y


( x. e! o" C- x) N" YCam and Crystal Hamilton and their 11-month-old son Brady move back to Regina from Edmonton. Now they're in a bigger house and debt-free.
6 K; B) S& x; n, h9 _7 H* p) d* i. bPhotograph by : Regina Leader-Post
+ H9 U0 E/ D3 U1 x& ~" M" V3 }1 G
* V8 w7 z2 C/ IThat is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.
9 j6 n" q: V5 h- N( T1 ?$ F
"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.

' P+ X% A5 z( z9 F" b- N: h$ sFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.

6 |& [0 S- e; q' YEven 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.
$ R. F! d2 h" e# y9 K4 s
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.
6 y& o" G& ?; `4 W* J
Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.

; k  V8 {, _) c& N* ~0 ?( LThere 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.

% t7 m- v; G% K# A6 G& d4 N7 w/ CAfter 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.
4 R; z9 m5 k2 h; h2 C+ @+ K
"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
, K# y' T& `! u+ E# F
! a' x4 t7 q0 q( M) |2 D. X. dThey 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.

5 K0 f) r6 h5 _9 d# J4 q% N/ Q"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
  F0 x, e3 m; ?8 [& u
She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
0 Y. b2 m) C$ K1 P: E
) ?* b0 U5 X! b8 G! [4 Y1 d/ X"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

* ]1 X6 m. q) \+ kVicki 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.
! p2 o8 k; l: C$ I% f$ k
. ~, x1 S/ F- d"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.

' w- Q% t, J. a4 F6 f8 g# C) |4 l0 AWhile 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.
' X: `" ~' d  R0 R$ |7 }
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.

; M* c! R* E1 X7 ^# O+ n" [0 O"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?' "
$ S4 E4 d+ P( \. S# B
- N0 ?+ ?9 h2 JSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
# I' Z" T' h; q0 V# D& `
Frank 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.
: V2 f2 a7 {/ l  a: v0 `$ l
4 h% D  I; W0 D, |"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
% y, g4 o$ e- _& h0 Z# s3 L& V
3 U7 Y, O5 ^+ }9 }% l6 _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.
" `2 z; o2 L$ b
"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.

1 b5 ~( u1 B4 l) U4 O' g  {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.
: a- z3 n) X6 V: \
"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
- _; [! o! s2 P$ |
& I9 _: A, h( _2 zReal estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.
5 M+ T7 E2 j( r6 w8 w$ k& I
' v& g, x  W( t8 S8 cAGAINST THE TIDE

) d1 ^4 K- F# r2 s3 n4 u/ _No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710

1 B8 j0 ]% j" u. {' s& Y+ R0 \) e/ MNet loss for Alberta: 128

Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
& I* O4 l+ }  o% [. o6 a  E# P
Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
0 P% ^# q+ u1 v) D4 R. O
9 e5 V2 a% S' _* r5 H2 APopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent

& H7 f. Q" l* ~% w6 ~3 `Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent
2 }' T& [1 b# ^1 [$ f5 n
Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
3 T2 V6 K0 i9 D  `
7 c/ {% e* Q, e2 l) m- t# hSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006

yj151

这是些有先见且有勇气的人们。
8 U0 f! q. u2 C$ H5 W) Y