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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
9 F6 a: N# m1 ]3 ?5 V2 }From Today's Edmonton Journal2 `. G t: U% T. c. g4 T: }
% s( p+ G, v: {# T4 }Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ! A* R. k; i9 b; W. \
4 O# R& O7 q; n L6 I2 vFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. 1 F7 ?+ f! N2 b+ `8 W
9 W' |( Y/ j H7 b* _That 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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( J' q( h, `; ~3 l$ P3 ]9 L" [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. 7 |. ?6 s* C- W1 p* D9 j
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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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" O4 _6 x2 n: v+ [7 O( A/ PIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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9 P. q, s+ y( X- p$ b8 ]2 BATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. 0 G1 L/ S3 i- L5 u# A
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
, {% o6 M) N1 Y# x“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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, r2 F. |6 T- s# m m, T“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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: I1 } R* A; {0 a- z& _- J8 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. : q# z/ _& d. j4 y5 c: X
; [- S9 K5 K7 D: RStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 5 H* @4 S" R/ L1 p" K) m
# j" ~7 l% p' ]7 F+ _% Q V& i2 _9 iThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. * g' u: ?3 e: ]% i" v. T9 T
8 W1 ~4 F, ^; [7 Q“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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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. 2 R1 N) M' _7 m' {: \
! Y0 b. B, Q$ E“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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