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

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Saskatchewan lures Albertans
Mike Sadava, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, March 30, 2007
EDMONTON - Albertans are starting to be Saskatchewan-bound in growing numbers.

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.

( x1 a& [& X4 a6 T7 WAccording to Statistics Canada, 128 more Albertans moved one province east in the last three months of 2006.



# R  |" w5 J: E4 C7 s$ j9 h"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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" k" q7 Q1 [# g, {( [. CFor 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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7 X: M$ j5 v+ \' s: \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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9 _  K5 j  {+ L8 ?( O( a1 lCam moved here eight years ago to take a course in architectural drafting.

: Z# {5 P9 E( k/ \) c6 J& IThere 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.

& d+ c) m: p+ ?5 B$ uAfter 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.

% }1 Z$ l: k, {0 y! C- N"Because the economy is so much bigger in Saskatchewan now, there are jobs again," Crystal Hamilton said.
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' ~6 p0 h! [1 N, x" yThey 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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& H( h5 \1 u! u( d: u"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.

"It was sad to move, but it's also good to be back."
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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.

/ g4 G, b8 X7 P+ ["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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5 r3 D* V9 k8 G3 _5 a7 }, o; gWhile 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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"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?' "

3 N4 w# b9 O! g2 e" cSo far Delnea loves the city, finding her neighbours friendly and not missing the traffic of Calgary.
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0 h! @- o2 T$ m7 ]& h& O  mFrank 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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5 k- G1 S; ^) @% _9 o6 x8 K$ oThere 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.
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"Not everyone who moves to a province is there permanently," Trovato said.
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4 I* j- \% d$ O* {, Q4 }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.
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/ W% i3 y+ X/ R/ A" E6 b/ K"It seems that every time I pick up the phone it's either 780 or 403 (area codes)."
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2 M7 j+ i9 w& R, f# R) gReal 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.

  `' w0 s) ]  Y/ v; R5 p! R, ^msadava@thejournal.canwest.com

AGAINST THE TIDE
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No. of people moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan: 2,838

No. of people moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta: 2,710
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Net loss for Alberta: 128

Net inflow of migrants to Alberta from the rest of Canada: 11,800
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/ @& X! k4 k: U6 R  V# gNet inflow of migrants in the fourth quarter 2005: 17,100
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- C8 J  {( ], V  T- LPopulation growth Alberta: 0.65 per cent
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Population growth for Sask.: 0.21 per cent

3 D/ ^+ T4 j6 o- RPopulation growth for all of Canada: 0.14 per cent

1 c- X( S( h& s( [" I1 fSource: Statistics Canada figures for fourth quarter, 2006