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Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal h9 ^" u9 c" Y) s
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007' { m. r; k/ s" y) H& B) Y# `
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EDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.! J6 |; i3 }: C4 p
$ ]0 c% \7 l' P) RFor 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.8 i6 e/ _% m9 N* b
- z5 F3 P, @( ^8 [) q# lAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
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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.
6 G/ J9 V* j* C( x- B3 C! h& ]3 n# SPhotograph by : Regina Leader-Post
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! A7 j2 P _* i& B1 n* ~0 ]That is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.
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" Q) H1 C( I2 _) x/ X"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.4 P! L4 V: y1 z* H7 [* o
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For 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.& w: e5 }7 T3 x" z; v! y
" @+ h' E0 E8 ^$ I% P8 n T' ^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.: Q: P8 K* m" s1 V5 Y" i. B
3 K( y& M; _# w/ V( ZCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.; Z& A1 l% ~1 M0 x3 m- e! }
+ J7 N0 P) h) H6 a" _: RThere 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.2 `3 u' [; B+ w0 @. x5 _
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After 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.' M6 w+ b% v" }: o! g9 T: A$ d
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"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
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/ C2 n0 M4 M4 u6 v2 MThey 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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" v/ v% Q9 ~8 z"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways." R, j, k! Y2 _4 H3 Z7 Z; k
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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
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2 \$ i& @- L& }4 @"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."" k: S2 c9 ?, n7 ^' y
8 {- d. ]6 J. g% \( T3 _( OVicki 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. m- r- v6 b7 u7 j* E$ y
; s/ p) X& `. u1 C& Z"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said./ V- [# u g1 ?% d9 ?/ {
& k& [6 U$ V1 j ^, A. Y3 [% n( ?While 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.! D; v; X, H! c9 x/ g4 p
1 ~" R, m, `! ]8 ]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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! x7 D" [. \0 Y a/ _& A1 M+ ?' z"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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So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.' E7 z9 ~2 r- N
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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." ^8 O I9 G% Y3 {/ e. u
Y8 @ G: w( U! C& A- f"When you see there's a lot of people moving to a place, there's also a countercurrent back," Trovato said.& i3 e* K" \% i
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There 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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"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said., m; K5 ~' k/ P5 Q S8 w( }
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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.' P2 r8 Z/ f' G+ ^* E4 i
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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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5 \2 \. l; M/ y6 @Real estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.8 P4 X0 n. \3 w) h7 z* H
) F7 ^: m |( |6 ~$ C9 WAGAINST THE TIDE
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5 N( d, e1 Q" K- m2 [# f6 ANo. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
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" `! n8 T4 ?" S# f: L$ X+ `: y8 rNo. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710, \; f- x5 v) r4 A1 E. y
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Net loss for Alberta: 128
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Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,8006 \, W/ n, Q$ @/ F6 Q' \3 s
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Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent6 C2 V2 F! t* T' o9 F
6 ^8 ~% L) Z1 |. T" r$ WPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent, @3 x; X" f, t- n3 r, }
8 G# X2 a7 g# d B! w3 M2 ePopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent+ u+ p! C4 _$ D! e0 a
: n( E) {' a* L, LSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006 |
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