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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses- O1 _9 K7 k, ^
From Today's Edmonton Journal8 [! O' j1 ]" n
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Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. / Z f/ [/ c' {; E) n
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From April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. : j0 k1 z3 ?7 x* R* }& o; ?
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That 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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/ R! M4 H# ~" zOnly 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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, H) I c+ x2 U0 |: T4 c* MBetween 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. 6 ^2 l8 W/ b6 |4 Z
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95.
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8 L; s/ b, t+ Z' b+ I$ JIt 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.
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) z: e/ M+ M& X“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. & N$ d* s5 c0 b/ S2 n
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects.
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5 \+ n; T$ ?6 N4 ]( T+ Z“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.”
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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. : ]1 @9 H. Y5 v- a1 W
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Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. , `2 [5 C; `: \- \! l. z& q
, U j! u- W6 g8 n& }! A8 d8 B% vThat 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. 8 q N9 p8 l9 P; y' C: h: Y" r
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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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