Go west, young man: Alberta sees largest wave of interprovincial migration since 2014

The Statistics Canada numbers show Alberta posted the largest gain while Ontario lost the most residents in the second quarter.

Almost 10,000 more people moved into Alberta from other parts of Canada in the second quarter of 2022 than vice versa, according to a Statistics Canada analysis released by ATB Financial on Thursday.

It was the largest net gain since the second quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter in a row in which Alberta’s population grew as a result of interprovincial migration, Rob Roach with ATB Economics reported.

University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe pointed out the inflow was dominated by young people in their 20s and 30s.

Blake Shaffer, an assistant economics professor at the U of C, shared a breakdown of Alberta’s population change going back to 1971.

It highlights the interprovincial population boom the province experienced in the early 2000s due to high oil prices, an abundance of jobs and overall strong economy.

Then, the trend reversed and there was an outflow of young people in recent years. Now, people are beginning to move to Alberta again.