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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses/ ~% o, \* @* T2 `% P* s
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. , Y2 k& X' |9 k; h/ z( z
4 K j9 l" v3 ?# I; w! Z cFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. - |% g) J" G# [, s% Y! L( S
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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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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. 1 p- D# j! y w9 s T
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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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: r0 h: j" _4 Z: U9 {It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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5 |( \- w" v& o( aATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. . m$ ^& [: b# l7 N: M1 r& g) O
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. % k; K( c- d6 Q# t
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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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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; E& X7 `/ V6 X3 E/ F7 ]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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/ i) i, T$ [1 } f! T2 f) mStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. ! a! [) N# h# E2 G) G
7 {; M% O. Z7 J6 R3 ^; v2 SThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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( o5 I& k3 q6 o" Q9 |3 e. M. U“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. " ]8 S; I! E- m
* w, E3 i' v& [& W“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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1 t6 a; y* \# a$ \1 u$ ^) [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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