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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses+ Q# ?) l) N5 O* q% P, J6 |
From Today's Edmonton Journal" ~5 O" ^/ l+ ~+ d, M8 a/ g
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. 1 Y, \5 s6 r" S
/ u& @3 e- F( b r3 ]From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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7 a5 d }: P8 {; } B5 ]That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. / P7 d! n; m/ {/ G) N
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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.
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. ) m; v( v& w/ _5 h V1 J
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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. - V+ R' ?+ e& h# H
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. * p+ y# o: V a8 G+ b
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. ) y! L6 i# h, Z; c! A' n4 m
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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.”
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* F( o1 r4 J5 YBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely. ( B6 B$ E6 c# L( P) @
$ d5 a8 g% X ^' B gStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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- \" }& \- q" h7 B9 i, ISumner 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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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. ; D. U; r% M5 l+ M- k- ?2 G4 s
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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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