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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
) @2 r: ^9 k4 G5 |From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. ; z1 S) {; ^/ U @7 q4 n& `
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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# y0 }1 v6 I* NThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta. " l% o: K2 |/ t" a
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Only 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. % q3 O- H4 \8 d8 m5 ]
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. ! I2 D2 Z& D' d! D" e
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 5 I) i! R% Z3 C* ?. \4 O
" Q# {9 p/ m" G4 i* u. IIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
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ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. & M5 n' t4 j, O( i+ x2 k
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
3 q5 _+ G7 V- {! E6 o“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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3 h8 Q- y/ X: v6 x- z [4 X“During the mid-decade, unsustainably strong job prospects drove migrants to Alberta from all corners of the country, although this trend reversed course quickly during the recession.” S% u3 _. x7 E
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But he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely.
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8 E7 a5 \- c) X: r- }3 }7 |Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
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% w7 R) l3 ^+ I$ u! ^That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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4 K c1 h& [2 S g“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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' k5 E) V$ r3 f# z4 zSumner said the province’s strong natural increase was partly due to its population having the lowest median age at 35.8, compared to the national average of 39.7.
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$ d; f3 c6 a8 p& X6 m" |$ R“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. T5 F d; J, d& [% b
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As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
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