Alberta Sees More Interprovincial Migration than Any Other Canadian Province

More and more people are making their way to Alberta from other parts of the country, and many of these new migrants are young people. According to a new report issued by the Fraser Institute, approximately 60,855 young career-age adults moved into Alberta from other provinces from 2003 up to 2012.

The report shows that Alberta is at the top of the list for interprovincial migration followed by the provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia. In fact, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia are the only provinces that saw a gain in this young migration during these years. The other Canadian provinces showed a loss of young people.

Most of the young adults that are flooding into Calgary and Alberta have come for employment opportunities. The average annual rate of unemployment from 2004 up to 2013 was 4.2% in Alberta for people ranging in age from 25 to 34. At the same time, the unemployment rates in Ontario were 7.1% and in Québec they were at 7.3%.

The average income in Alberta continues to remain higher than any other province in Canada. This also attracts newcomers into the area.

This influx of young career people into the city creates a number of opportunities. These younger people are interested in finding homes close to the downtown core and are looking for exciting shopping and dining choices.

As the housing costs in Calgary continue to go up, some of the younger people that are migrating here are finding it difficult to afford living in the city. Many of the people that are arriving are not going to be working for the gas and oil sectors and may find it difficult to afford the rent or mortgage payments for a home. For this reason, Calgary will need to step up its efforts to not only attract but to also retain all of the young talent that is arriving into the city on a daily basis.