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

ZJDX

Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007

EDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
  U, `( w2 C4 ^" R+ J- ~2 `* K$ z
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.

8 q) A# h: ^- Q! x- cAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.

: D2 Z$ e1 b5 _2 M+ `4 s% D

+ 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.
Photograph by : Regina Leader-Post
; B; z3 o! C; Z
That is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.

"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* 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.
) z, x, a* q; h, t+ p/ _6 n, v: T; }
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.

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.

- e1 \" A- d( JCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.

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.

! 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.
4 ?& D% \0 p; @
- Y) D7 f0 x' y% d( \! W"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
, g  U6 i, u2 Z% Y% }/ J
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 $190,000.
  H) V" g  ?4 y
9 i* J4 m* @  s4 r2 D1 g8 x"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
1 G1 n! r! N( Q# Z" O
: u" C( J  @$ t7 xShe said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.

7 S4 O) `6 v1 N, A1 D"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.

) 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.
, T( K5 s* ]" F* n7 _8 Z" X" V9 [
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.

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.
9 Y5 E( G. I) m! L8 ^* x4 r+ J9 e
"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?' "
, u! x8 I5 O* l& ~( i5 m' `
8 H, _) I0 S6 m" HSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
% {. g7 |+ J( H8 C5 M
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.

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.
* u* V7 U, F' `+ B: w2 A4 w: m
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.
" m, a" e" \5 }2 E3 m1 v# A
! y7 {6 ^& b) X"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
/ Z' M  p6 y6 F% H( `9 L
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.
: j) A- W, M3 _, V/ \
"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
1 S/ N7 Y7 ~- O* w4 r3 F) B
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.

6 m6 ^% k. a6 R' n) ]) X, ?AGAINST THE TIDE
1 S( o5 D8 _7 `: H# H. r% [" Q
No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
  A( W3 A: N. _8 o; d0 ~6 O6 s
Net loss for Alberta: 128
5 E! I1 z1 {! y8 D
. ^3 k! `4 R/ u. tNet inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800

Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100

, s( n9 q: g2 wPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
. }1 L, e3 k* i) R/ E) l9 D
Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

$ a+ ?, t* i! D; \* Y6 Y( f% Q* IPopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
. R# w9 v# y- U. j; _  \
Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006

yj151

这是些有先见且有勇气的人们。
8 S+ A6 B& u( s5 |) P