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Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
. h0 \6 s, q7 h: OPublished: Friday, March 30, 2007/ A3 k6 ?$ y& j
- q0 L R+ ]- v3 Y' bEDMONTON - 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.& @. T; D' ^ u: z1 g" ~
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According to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
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% v* G/ g7 u1 }1 @4 U' d( y0 VCam 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.
9 x- ^( ?: o/ B) IPhotograph by : Regina Leader-Post
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That is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.5 p- Q4 h3 d, K* I( Q1 j# R
: H/ v( J+ U+ u2 t+ Q$ c1 J& @) l"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.
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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." b3 I+ v# Q2 C Q
) |& h H/ i; K6 }* X7 |) ^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.
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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.% I' ^9 d# G! `& ]
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Cam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.
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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.
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9 P* o- Z, k0 l8 X4 WAfter 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.& ]/ A5 b- ?) O' ]
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"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.7 b1 Q9 G7 p7 K5 ]
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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 $190,000.
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"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
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" e3 r Q5 [$ x" J"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."; c! g" l* N& n: G0 k; g
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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.( Z& [. U" P, ?
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"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.! T/ H5 M" d( M) c6 Y8 p
2 [/ ]" |6 \: ^! t" m X. DWhile 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 x4 w! X5 a& Q+ O) b8 ~
3 M( @1 l% E! h( W$ }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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1 U. L. L1 o. g) Z9 h/ e% z SSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
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1 g P. g# A4 N: A+ MFrank 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.
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9 o5 U9 }+ `/ S% g: }/ k& m" B"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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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." P: t5 E+ j) t8 R% M: E1 J' x& O2 n
5 K! v4 S! S! t$ J. q1 J* k0 Q"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.- k/ x; V. \! O" B% z5 r
% \* ?, B/ J' G1 s! x KTerry 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 $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.' l5 u$ ^% N8 w+ m% w
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AGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,8387 _ l. n( q, \& _ j* F
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No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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( ~" s p5 o6 q9 `8 qNet loss for Alberta: 128
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% W6 o) Y7 x& q3 d4 R7 rNet inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800: I, q- o/ Z/ O2 u
& c, R q0 R- y! R; c6 RNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100& B% y% l1 S) ^: D% c
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Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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9 W9 P4 P) c8 z/ X/ QPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent) h5 f& N! l, m4 F
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Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent7 y/ n. @) Y4 T
) r" n. h4 v5 |Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006 |
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