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Gain of 2,820 from other provinces follows losses( @6 P* p- r$ Z% A4 g( Q% c: U
From Today's Edmonton Journal3 m% ?2 F3 u" |/ t. `. F
, p" u" R+ H$ \' Z _& YMigration to Alberta from other provinces jumped in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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- ?2 t% R- z8 f% WFrom April 1 to July 1, a net total of 2,820 Canadians moved to Alberta. " n& p! I1 [( e: s
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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. ; R- y" T, S) g' t. d
5 Q: `7 w; Y) c" K. c5 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. 1 h* Y& o# T. x' p: x
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Between 2009 and this year, Alberta lost 2,200 people to other provinces.
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It was the first time Alberta had lost more people than it gained since 1994-95. 6 W+ d; _8 O2 Z, v/ G. z
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It followed a peak during 200506 when 45,800 interprovincial migrants arrived. * V4 n6 C* C8 D, B; G! \- e
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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. + h7 [$ q6 ^2 l2 l: T3 E8 Z
- }. w5 c/ v* g1 W8 U“Alberta just experienced its most solid quarter of interprovincial migration in a year,” Sumner said. , q* z" ]' o5 s2 [9 y5 a. z
“The main factor driving Canadians to move between provinces is jobs and job prospects. & `1 N$ j1 R5 K7 D" B" ]
6 o8 x3 X G" v$ T1 N l# d; A“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. # z: m: M- L. I0 F
8 W, e5 G+ ~3 F; W* z6 cStatistics Canada said Alberta’s population in the second quarter climbed by 18,538, or 0.5 per cent, to 3.72 million.
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( [, I- ?% p5 q# Q0 {! D, CThat 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. - V \! j( u# T" |7 ]( V8 H
2 y3 ~% \8 C3 v( m% `$ ISumner 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.
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“More young people means more babies,” Sumner said.
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1 f+ }$ u0 H- E/ q3 h1 s# xAs 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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