 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses6 w' A1 {6 R* d6 B) N
From Today's Edmonton Journal" M8 V; Q2 y9 N" T
* V/ N6 a @" c& O+ yMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
@0 _ l" V, f4 b' ]* M2 t: s& D2 a( D. f) E/ c
From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
; q" \& Z) [( `9 k& g8 I' \; H) H( B& f1 w1 f5 l& \. {
That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
# k5 ~9 r8 j! P4 c, h- j0 s v1 W
/ l- S- q- v, j6 t+ U: rOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. : a! ^ e% W# h
9 v7 x: u3 i2 Q" s! l8 SBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
. y2 ~- n9 I4 t- T
0 n; j" C( R6 q9 t7 l! RIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 8 ?' F* o6 f2 c N# ?. z
8 p3 i0 e% j0 p5 G& {6 KIt followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. $ [0 T3 X9 T- j* q! q: q
) T, a2 \8 t8 @0 N# K9 v- L( u
ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region. ' S) X8 [; {" t8 j9 A
% E1 {& A* r0 G4 t! V
“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
+ i* d, ^7 U: j1 C& Y5 M“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
8 T* F. A8 w/ D- } @: o
- Q( H. b+ u4 s3 e& |“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.”
' v. I! i% h+ {1 ^8 S! K) K# |4 X8 J/ U1 H$ Y
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.
s% m9 d- ?. S q$ g! G2 M! t3 z3 c% M
Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 6 \7 c8 ~6 e X2 M
& [$ _, T: z: g; q4 x$ r: ^! Q
That was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. * @) C- Z: }. E8 v1 P
; X: |. a5 F9 Q2 F- P
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
: M& B& I% D$ W( b4 W/ p' ~, ?; k$ z7 F
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.
. [- v. S' `) H: p
7 s; }1 X/ O7 ^“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
" R. B- W# L$ z. S$ H. F1 s) ~$ X9 e& g3 q6 g0 x
As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|