 鲜花( 13)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses* |- Q: v; F K. E6 t2 x1 o; w4 o
From Today's Edmonton Journal7 a+ g6 V4 I6 G% ^! P u! D- g7 i' ^
8 ~. m3 A7 ]6 w* }2 N9 \* U) \
Migration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
4 W- O# L' W R. ?
% }4 M/ R( f* ]! A \# t8 nFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta.
v$ ?! d0 Z3 m9 H, Q! y9 O8 g* x
That means people from other provinces are being drawn by Alberta’s economy after months of dwindling or negative interprovin-cial migration to Alberta.
9 ~3 e3 \* J5 Z+ z! z+ F" {' d* R5 U
* B" @8 b% @3 y8 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.
$ Q; ]8 N2 f2 e1 W! F: ^ W% n c4 v4 `# U9 B/ c6 H2 T
Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces. - \+ |3 C( C2 Y
& P* G; k4 z: T7 M3 a7 s, a7 aIt was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 4 e; [. g6 z( p8 }6 i
: U. v8 o* ]6 M5 |- N
It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived.
* P+ ?. l, E8 X4 A0 F
2 h8 S- L; F7 N& I9 J7 yATB Financial economist Dan Sumner said interprovincial migration is one of the best measures of the relative economic and social health of a region.
# t! m% C, a9 ] g" {1 S
& a5 _2 U! c7 s8 m: S( e“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said.
) K) Y5 y, V/ G+ N, u, n5 v& Q1 J“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. 0 |3 I# H: r7 {# v t7 U/ K
5 P" g6 m7 p1 S9 z; s
“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.”
: H! Z! x7 ]7 |. r- ]% c$ i m! k; S* F8 s" r
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 x) q }; w: m$ ?3 n2 q% W
7 e0 q( L* S: f8 C
Statistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million. , K% ~: c6 S" ?# R! K& x
( M. B" ~' s; Z# e& sThat was the highest increase rate among provinces and includes arrivals from other provinces and countries, as well as births. ; f- Y$ y2 L2 k9 b0 D, |
0 }8 X Z; Y& ^6 p# y: f“Almost half the growth in Alberta came from natural increase, the highest proportion among the provinces,” said the federal agency.
0 b; }- C, p4 f- B- Y1 z4 }7 @+ g7 c, x) f* }+ w- Z# 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.
) f2 \. W3 z. C) V0 ~ S4 w/ \* D2 K3 s! m
“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said. & H; ]$ n; K9 c. n
4 E. u7 `/ z- [! {1 s* CAs of July 1, Canada’s population was estimated at 34.1 million, up 120,800 or 0.36 per cent from April 1. |
|