Interprovincial migration to Alberta has been rising by 10,000 or more people for five consecutive quarters
Thousands of people enjoy Calgary’s Lilac Festival on June 5, 2022. Alberta’s population is again growing faster than any other province in Canada, according to figures from Statistics Canada.Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
Alberta’s population is yet again growing faster than any other province in Canada, with more than 17,000 people moving from other parts of the country from July to September, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.
The migration is largely from Ontario and B.C., which have been experiencing a loss in population for more than a year. In contrast, interprovincial migration to Alberta has been rising by 10,000 or more people for five consecutive quarters — a first since such data began being recorded.
The main driver for the rise in the number of people is non-permanent immigration, which surged by 10,638 in the third quarter.
The trend is also observed across Canada, where the total number of non-permanent residents climbed to 2,511,437 from 2,198,679 — the greatest quarterly boost going back to 1971, when data on non-permanent residents became available.
The new numbers bring the population in the province to 4,756,408, a 4.3 per cent rise in the past year.
“The gain in non-permanent residents was mostly due to an increase in the number of work and study permit holders and, to a lesser extent, an increase in the number of refugee claimants,” the report stated.
The news comes as Alberta shutters its Alberta Calling campaign, which the UCP government launched in August 2022 as a way to attract newcomers by boasting of “bigger paycheques” and “smaller rent cheques.”
A second round of the campaign was reintroduced in March before the announcement to end the program was made during a telephone town hall last week about the upcoming provincial budget, where Finance Minister Nate Horner called the campaign a success.
“We think Alberta called and many, many answered, but it has taken up a lot of the vacancies,” Horner said. “The housing market’s very tight.”
Population growth impacting housing affordability
Experts have been warning that the strong pace of population growth in Canada is eroding housing affordability, given the country has struggled to ramp up home construction.
The strong population growth is also posing a political risk for the federal Liberals, who have seen their popularity tank amid affordability concerns.
Earlier this month, Bank of Canada deputy governor Toni Gravelle gave a speech on the effect of immigration on the economy and inflation in particular.
Gravelle acknowledged there are many benefits from this rise in immigration, noting it has helped grow the economy, expand the workforce and counteract an aging population.
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But he warned it’s also adding pressure to a housing market riddled with challenges, including zoning restrictions and a shortage of construction workers.
Construction workers build homes in the Livingstone development on the northern edge of Calgary on Tuesday, December 19, 2023.Gavin Young/Postmedia
“This jump in demographic demand coupled with the existing structural supply issues could explain why rent inflation continues to climb in Canada. It also helps explain, in part, why housing prices have not fallen as much as we had expected,” Gravelle told the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The sentiment was shared by Frano Cavar, the director of government relations at the Calgary Construction Association, who said the issue of rapid population growth is a “catch-22”, where immigration helped inject 13,000 jobs into the industry last year but also strained existing infrastructure.
“You do need immigrants, certainly to fill the (labour) gap right now,” Cavar said. “But more increasingly, immigration increases the infrastructure demand. And the question is, are we able to find a balance?”
‘Big swings of boom-bust’ typical for Alberta: professor
However, drastic swings in population are baked into Alberta’s economic cycle, said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University.
“We have these big swings of boom-bust, not just in the economy but everything that flows from that,” Bratt said.
That includes housing, health care and schools. But despite record-breaking population growth and reports of people choosing Alberta for cheaper housing prices, Bratt said the rise, which accelerated in 2022, is linked to a hike in oil prices — which touched $91 per barrel in February of last year.
As the search for ways to tame population growth continues, Bratt said he finds it difficult to reconcile the conversation around reduced immigration by federal conservatives and Premier Danielle Smith’s ambition to roughly double the province’s population from 4.7 million to 10 million by 2050.
“How do you go from four and a half to 10 million in a couple of decades, if you don’t have immigration into Alberta?”
Even then, immigration is a federal mandate that cannot be controlled by the province.
“Once an immigrant comes into, let’s say, Toronto or Halifax, because of the charter, they have mobility rights, so they could still end up in Alberta.”
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
EDMONTON – The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers announced Tuesday that assistant general manager Brad Holland is leaving the club.
The move comes almost three months after the departure of former Oilers general manager Ken Holland, Brad’s father.
Oilers chief executive officer and president of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said in a statement that Brad Holland and the team parted ways so Holland could “explore other opportunities.”
Holland, 43, joined the Oilers as a scout in 2019. He was promoted to assistant GM in July 2022.
He had a hand in building the team that advanced to Game 7 of the 2023-24 Stanley Cup final before losing to the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers hired former Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman to replace Ken Holland on July 1.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins are placing Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve after the quarterback was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the move. Tagovailoa will be sidelined for at least four games with the designation.
He was hurt in the third quarter of a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills on a play where he collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. He ran for a first down and then initiated the contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding.
Players from both teams immediately motioned that Tagovailoa was hurt, and as he lay on the turf the quarterback exhibited some signs typically associated with a traumatic brain injury. He remained down on the field for a couple of minutes, got to his feet and walked to the sideline.
Tagovailoa this week began the process of consulting neurologists about his health. He was diagnosed with two concussions in 2022 and one while in college at Alabama.
