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Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal% U$ w0 A% U! l& X1 J* c; j
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007+ e; `/ m$ L9 b# a/ d
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EDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
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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.- g( j- O! e6 _
8 q) A# h: ^- Q! x- cAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.; i6 t g7 s5 z! u4 t9 P+ F4 _. g+ g
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+ W+ w4 A% `/ s9 d% ^) L, @Cam 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.8 |4 [& x! A( I* R% x
Photograph by : Regina Leader-Post
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That is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.6 i' O( h# I- p$ k! K8 R. J
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"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.$ m. x2 C4 E0 \ d! t6 e
) \. M* K5 @- x1 u( Z( d6 FFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.
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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.8 w* x! N2 |: k6 q9 \5 j
1 \8 e8 ]/ E1 I: `4 K, y4 TStatistics 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.2 e8 v' f) u% t! Q
- e1 \" A- d( JCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.* _5 y4 P- f# u! G5 J4 a/ o, c
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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.0 a6 Q! Q. Y: K
! e2 l, g; A$ nAfter 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.
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- Y) D7 f0 x' y% d( \! W"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
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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 $190,000.
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9 i* J4 m* @ s4 r2 D1 g8 x"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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: u" C( J @$ t7 xShe said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.8 ^; [! B$ x6 ?. ^5 o
7 S4 O) `6 v1 N, A1 D"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."8 a7 i3 b7 b3 d3 |* [) F2 X1 W
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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.% v; i9 V/ M! Y+ g6 e7 w7 ?
) R) C4 o5 V ~* W" j"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
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3 N& P$ y7 ^( ? g+ JWhile 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.6 \! V( S' E) M
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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.
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"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?' "
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8 H, _) I0 S6 m" HSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
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5 ]+ N) ^, Y( |% ]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.: n/ k6 h6 S1 g' l6 I: Y4 J
2 L2 d2 T. q. e8 @% V' t$ `) @"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.
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2 F; w2 Y' p8 X& \" zThere 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.
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! y7 {6 ^& b) X"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
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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.
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"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
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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.# e) c2 ~! ~6 ]) J+ h
6 m6 ^% k. a6 R' n) ]) X, ?AGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838! c& H! q% `' ~
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No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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Net loss for Alberta: 128
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. ^3 k! `4 R/ u. tNet inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800* X- [8 j! R5 {! }% g
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Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,1000 e+ x; i: @4 v8 Q
, s( n9 q: g2 wPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent' ?* K" S! U7 D3 @
$ a+ ?, t* i! D; \* Y6 Y( f% Q* IPopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
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Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006 |
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