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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses6 J& H( ]5 \# [: Y7 i
From Today's Edmonton Journal
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. % ~6 v' E2 K* F* P
# W- B9 u$ Z% p$ t7 e2 Z6 z$ HFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
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& d! ^' d; `3 d& n+ ]% R0 {: jThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
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- b* F- G6 R6 i- ]1 o5 nOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that.
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5 V- p* `6 _3 WBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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It 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. , U w$ e8 w6 U6 l c) V6 y
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“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
4 `3 L1 G, E7 P, h6 S# B“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 2 G* j; u$ N4 ~, Y
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“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.” ' {3 w I7 M/ e; `' F
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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. 4 y4 U! P" W. l9 ?4 I
0 ?4 c0 \8 ?+ DStatistics 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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That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
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“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
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Sumner 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. # Y% ^6 f% y/ Y. P- s
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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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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