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Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal7 V" }( ]: X' ?, X' e2 i% l/ e" o
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
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7 L) P) R/ m1 q) Y# nEDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.9 v( D6 H1 a* r% A8 H
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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.
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; ~/ n9 O2 x5 jAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006." B& q/ x5 p" T2 ]+ I* \% m; M
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* @' e1 z" `& C% k- r/ @Cam 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.
( _ u! x+ E3 lPhotograph by : Regina Leader-Post
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8 k E, g$ f) q# SThat is not a huge number, but it is creating smiles in Regina.
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5 _( U" J7 v! ~; ?' k"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.+ s4 R0 v% j$ P7 |
k9 v* @) X' pFor years, between 2,000 and 4,000 Saskatchewan residents per quarter would head out to Alberta in search of the good life.
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8 B) |! {% j" ?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.% k/ k0 L8 J b E0 `
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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.. p6 a( N" B# l# u
6 ]8 }; p! D8 ]8 g& P- aCam 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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0 L6 P( t% N* A" w$ gAfter 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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8 x* c( V a5 F% S"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
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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 $190,000.9 S: ~- c* u) R
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"We're financially set now," she said. "It was perfect timing and turned out to be good idea in many ways."
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She said they liked Edmonton, other than the traffic, and made a lot of friends here who they will miss.
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"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."
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. v2 E# L3 }7 }/ i% |Vicki Delnea and her husband Rod had similar reasons for moving to Regina from Calgary -- the difference in the cost of housing enabled them to pay off their mortgage.9 g; H, h( v- M' @! g
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"In the end you have to figure out your priorities, and for us it was not being on the hamster wheel," she said.
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While she is from London, England, Rod was originally from Regina, and it will be great for her three-year-old, Joshua, to know his grandparents, she said.
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! d9 ~! J7 O) a: pRod, who works in marketing, was able to keep his job and is working out of a home office, which saves him a 40-minute commute.
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" Z# x7 _: c1 i( R* a"Everybody thought we were crazy moving here because there is a stigma against Saskatchewan. When we told them Regina, they said: 'Why?' We said: 'Why not?' "+ M1 Q2 j: f1 q( x$ K1 e
9 q. {+ s3 k1 V, j8 w( B: FSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.: y3 a& y! B0 r! b' V
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Frank 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.) m3 c( m, ^* X/ A% T* R
0 M3 k& ?$ u9 Q! Q"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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8 m+ ?, ]: Z5 j% V3 LThere 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.. ^% u3 v+ z! t5 g, A+ N1 T
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"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said./ f* Q5 N# C6 a
9 L' _5 g+ N% N wTerry 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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, C4 Q% K9 o1 j/ f2 z+ H( Y9 y; U, f"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."$ ?6 n- S9 E3 x! B
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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.
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AGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838) E/ S3 a! i7 G7 {+ _& J
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No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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% \8 f' m4 u% s- }0 Z5 BNet loss for Alberta: 128
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! P3 x: Y& P/ d/ U( wNet inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
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Net inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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Population growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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, y: S2 {" n6 Y* R" T3 F# {4 lPopulation growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent
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Population growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent
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% W k! b9 J& a8 tSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006 |
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