 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses
/ F" n/ T. o; T" x$ P6 B2 |From Today's Edmonton Journal2 J" a' r* ^4 f/ Q# `. ^$ W
8 E- m0 t* C& v' W
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
2 f+ X0 u' j: N+ y3 P, N* }/ r
) g4 I" ] ^+ i/ `6 j1 KFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
' l+ ` b/ ~" D5 g3 a
( U3 H' O( N, w2 j9 W/ N( wThat means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
_+ X f6 A% X: o
$ D1 W$ U4 }. r- y' U) m& d! \/ kOnly 312 Canadians moved to Alberta in the first three months of the year and Alberta posted net losses in the two quarters before that. , d( P; z7 |, o, x1 X2 u9 B
0 p8 a# j5 n" \Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. # N! z- H; ^5 [ g9 s0 K: D7 [
/ T1 ~. ]9 x" c* G4 ~It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. % O6 |5 \$ I1 ^/ P5 y. M& B
. ~/ K. M7 B& O) H6 C& B
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
/ @% W* _" G0 l
- W7 G3 \, |8 L1 c7 [% r, L i$ PATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
# m! _: u/ T* @5 |% M7 j& h! K" @! T! D/ q) Z
“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. / J* j" t% h1 a% u6 O; i1 i
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
7 J/ m* a" `0 I* a$ w% Z- i2 N0 \: v x( Y
“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.”
" r: X, d9 f+ M9 s* D8 I& |7 Z9 h& _
6 k7 Q! x8 y0 q8 l+ s% SBut he said a still-recovering job market in Alberta means a quick return to the pace of migration seen during the boom is unlikely.
7 N: G( d; p7 b0 T" L& `4 q, `( D* n; G0 T
Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. 1 Q: |* e% B9 }
% }& Y+ F4 `' T4 s! X; AThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births.
+ ~3 B* v- m4 g# w& Q+ ^# F5 g) r% R0 f4 Z
“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency. - n" r# W1 d6 v
7 k9 L% e, z$ Y( O. l( ]: R8 r
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. 1 T4 {4 i6 W# K/ {( x
2 }- x) g( }# m4 O
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
; y% t7 W0 u3 X* T1 v6 }% G4 n+ ?' @3 J
As of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|