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

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
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* I! t- g+ S6 t. t9 `2 c3 E3 FEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.
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& F% ^# ^! }& K# E8 IFor 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.

4 C. C3 _5 Y/ ~- w, a0 VAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.
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, ~2 p8 X# S6 J% T"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.

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.
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Cam 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.

. ^; ?: C7 v: g5 R/ JAfter 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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"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.

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."

She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.

5 F, |  r1 x, j, p) f/ h"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."

1 X3 M. X# h4 H% \/ M  Q. n$ q2 LVicki 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.
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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.

% U5 ~9 I3 S) ^' T" qWhile 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.
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, S8 \, V$ W9 q" }4 g- H2 I"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?' "

So far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.

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. v6 w. ]+ o# p. qFrank 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.

"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.

"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.

4 i9 w% U# q* K) P4 Q5 \: u"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."

% w  s% p$ H$ `5 a4 XReal estate prices are still much lower than Edmonton -- $130,000 to $150,000 can still get you a decent three-bedroom home -- but are starting to rise. February set a new record in Regina, with 250 houses sold.
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; x  K8 |, I3 ?; k: s; cmsadava@thejournal.canwest.com
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AGAINST THE TIDE
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/ [; H$ \: C, X3 D; F- `# TNo. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838
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No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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$ @5 j( x7 Q1 X: v9 L9 L) \Net loss for Alberta: 128

Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
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3 P# N: e# `+ ]9 a" r0 xNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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9 n! d' i- a- @- p) f( PPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent

* U" Z, f6 r% L7 |; O, r1 J  wPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

8 [* s. ~. n2 R) j' }Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent

Source: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006