Alberta led the provinces in population growth for the third consecutive quarter, mainly due to strong inflows of migrants. As of July 1, 2012, Alberta’s population was estimated at 3,873,745, up 0.81%, or 31,196 people, from last quarter. This was Alberta’s highest quarterly population growth rate since the third quarter of 2006 and more than double the national average of 0.36% growth.

Migration continues to be the main driver of population growth in Alberta. Overall, Alberta has gained 23,090 interprovincial and international migrants during the second quarter of 2012, accounting for almost three-quarters of the province’s quarterly population growth.

During the second quarter, 8,544 net interprovincial migrants moved to Alberta. The majority came from Ontario (3,685) and British Columbia (1,846) (Table 3). In fact, Alberta gained interprovincial migrants from every part of Canada except for Saskatchewan (-175) and Yukon (-65). Nationwide, except for Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Yukon, all regions experienced net outflows of interprovincial migrants. Ontario saw the largest net outflow of 4,364, followed by Manitoba (-1,302) and British Columbia (-1,196).

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