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

ZJDX

Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
) F7 _2 E' G* \# q5 f) ]Published: Friday, March 30, 2007

EDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
! r' k/ @, C  ]
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.
* P% X7 i/ t5 ]$ Y& W
According to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
" ?. b! s1 ?1 }4 [+ f5 }+ Y
/ J. c8 n0 L: {3 d5 T! S, `3 M
5 G6 o: e" V8 W1 N4 \% q
0 [# Y% N  |5 R8 `: E: x" jCam 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.
' D6 N" [  \3 m* B* jPhotograph by : Regina Leader-Post
; g- G, ^/ g: E7 _
That is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.
( m- B! X) A; i+ d* V" M
- ~$ s6 |2 v- W* P"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.

( k. V# |5 }7 V* c2 l4 O2 T$ K7 e- ]For years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.
" i3 g- }/ i# f: w  n
Even 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.

: i: f: q1 w# G5 _2 L' [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.
3 s8 m" V; F! m
Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
% E* p% O0 p$ o% h+ q
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.

- o* g: M3 ~# f% r* H  K+ ]# DAfter 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.

  x: _: O' y; f" O+ J* i"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
5 [$ ]1 ^* c9 |* v0 a; \
6 ?5 ^$ p: g! m# _. p3 A6 d+ [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.

0 T, G4 q4 e# W7 y"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
, ]+ X# d# B4 y
  t. p7 J+ Z4 d! Q1 _She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.

7 |6 u* G0 ]) D3 H2 b  a% k"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

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.
7 J! R. g! n7 t$ R
"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
7 |3 I) x8 N4 Y9 _; i6 h3 u
! j/ Y" e" S8 D+ SWhile 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.
% u) p* \7 n! ]' D" h' y; X! L9 y3 d, c
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.

"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?' "

So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
% U2 G( W6 S$ A' K' h9 t
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.

% U' O, ]% W1 D. ^  Q"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
2 p5 E/ P# B$ B% M2 S# V
1 {2 z* [+ ~2 b7 g+ }' n1 }9 TThere 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.
( D7 r  d3 G1 W6 b; ?; G$ F! g
6 s: \; q; z$ r3 y' {. n"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
, ]# F( ]7 }# `
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.

"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
  q4 I) z' x6 t
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.

' n% q9 G- C7 U# Q2 l5 x: \9 bAGAINST THE TIDE
) Y8 D" q+ C8 p& O
4 O1 a- o0 j; n! @9 Z9 y1 g* aNo. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
0 i# R3 v5 M$ X7 H: [
No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710

+ u  @- P9 q) k+ r/ [0 s( K3 g/ iNet loss for Alberta: 128

Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
0 X" d5 t& K* Q; Y# j
Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100

Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent

  a8 s; C  c- T' I) W+ SPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

* L$ Y! {# j' BPopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent

; W3 U5 R5 [" Q5 QSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006

yj151

这是些有先见且有勇气的人们。
& l8 }& u) L( ^  m  Y