Alberta the land of opportunity for more and more Canadians - Page 5

vid · #81 Posted: **Dec 29, 2006, 11:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taller Better

Wow! Is this accurate? Only 19,399 people from outside of Canada immigrated to Alberta? I'm shocked at how low that figure is..

They would migrate to a larger city, like Toronto or Vancouver, THEN go to Alberta. A lot of the African immigrants here first went to Toronto, while the Chinese immigrants I know came from Vancouver and Chicago.

Wooster · #82 Posted: **Dec 29, 2006, 11:56 PM**

Yeah, Alberta is rarely a first landing spot for international immigrants. As Vid said, most of our immigrants first landed in GTA or Vancouver and moved here later on. I don't think Calgary or Edmonton are really known to outsiders at all. Once they arrive though I think it becomes known that cities in Alberta present a place of opportunity for them.

caltrane74 · #83 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 12:02 AM**

Yes I also find it funny that more international immigrants dont move first to Alberta. Especially with all the refugee help centers out there and all.

LordMandeep · #84 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 1:51 AM**

Yeah immigration will likely keep Toronto in the largest city spot unless we ban immigration, which wouldn't be a good idea.

shreddog · #85 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 2:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by samne

Provincial migration is boring. How about International immigration by province.

Ontario 140,533

Funny thing is, that too seems to be changing. Not sure where they got the numbers from, but 2 months ago, the G&M published this article saying "International immigration to Ontario has slowed down too, dropping from 156,444 people in 2001-02, to about 86,000 over the past year."

Again, not sure where they got this number from, but if true, it will be interesting to see where the rest went since total immigration numbers have remained semi-static.

I guess we'll see for sure in a couple months when SC starts to release some official numbers.

BTW, why is provincial migration boring?? Is it simply because a region of the country you are interested in looks bad?

Personally, I think it is very interesting because internal migration is a very valid indicator of informed mobility. As stated by others, external immigration to Canada is often driven by limited information. The knowledge of 1 or 2 main cities, government advertising, etc. Once people become fully aware of the information concerning economic prosperity, or whatever else floats their boat, they can then make an educated decision on where to live. Whether that be where they first immigrated to or some other burg.

shreddog · #86 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 2:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by samne

Provincial migration is boring. How about International immigration by province.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/fac...manent/18.html

Newfoundland and Labrador 496

Prince Edward Island 330

Nova Scotia 1,929

New Brunswick 1,092

Quebec 43,308

Ontario 140,533

Manitoba 8,097

Saskatchewan 2,106

Alberta 19,399

British Columbia 44,767

Total 262,236

Though I do find interprovincial migration more interesting, certain aspects of external migration to Canada can be interesting, especially trends.

The one trend I find real interesting is how immigration to Ontario is declining in relation to other provinces. By that I mean fewer and fewer immigrants are chosing Ontario as their first point of entry.

According to SC, (link), in 2005/2006 "More than 52% of immigrants, around 133,100, chose Ontario as their new place of residence. This was the lowest proportion since 1993/1994. The province's attraction for immigrants has been declining since the turn of the millennium."

It would be interesting to determine why this is the case? Is it better advertising by the governments or perhaps we are seeing the effects of the pioneering immigrants in areas outside of the GTA.

By that I mean that studies show that immigrants often choose areas where similiar immigrants have previously settled. So once you get a group of "pioneering immigrants" in an area, they tend to attract more immigrants. Since Toronto, and to a lesser degree Vancouver, are so well known outside of Canada, they tended to attract the first set of immigrants to Canada. Those immigrants then tend to migrate to other areas and act as "pioneering immigrants" to a new set of immigrants who then bypass the traditional points of entry.

So yeah, I guess international immigration can be interesting too.

shreddog · #87 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 2:58 AM**

^^ Note that the number on the SC website says 133K for 05/06 and the G&M article said 86K over the past year. Again not sure what the G&M is saying (is it only 2006??) or where they got their numbers from, but the trend is definitely there.

samne · #88 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 3:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by shreddog

BTW, why is provincial migration boring?? Is it simply because a region of the country you are interested in looks bad?

I just find international migration sexier than packing a uhaul for a temporary job. This goes both ways.

Why does it look bad?

The numbers look big, but really they make sense. Ontario has about 4X the population of Alberta. In turn, about the same proportion of each province migrates to the other respectively.

These are just raw numbers and not percentage of population.

Im not knocking Alberta's prosperity, but these articles are just putting twists on the same old story.

Waterlooson · #89 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 3:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh white

Yeah, Alberta is rarely a first landing spot for international immigrants. As Vid said, most of our immigrants first landed in GTA or Vancouver and moved here later on. I don't think Calgary or Edmonton are really known to outsiders at all. Once they arrive though I think it becomes known that cities in Alberta present a place of opportunity for them.

That's starting to change; I post to a British emigration forum and the number of Brits interested in Alberta has increased many times fold in the last year or two. Alberta is now on the map for immigrants like never before. The economy is a big draw, but the beauty of Alberta's National Parks are also a huge attraction and not to be underestimated. Another draw is Alberta's (especially Calgary's) sunny and dry climate.

BTW, I asked a little old Mexican lady down here in Cabo if she had ever heard of Calgary, and she said "yes" because she watched the '88 winter Olympics on TV!

vid · #90 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 3:09 AM**

"That's starting to change"

Which means it won't be fully reflected with the data we have right now.

shreddog · #91 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 3:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by samne

I just find international migration sexier than packing a uhaul for a temporary job. This goes both ways.

Why does it look bad?

...

Im not knocking Alberta's prosperity, but these articles are just putting twists on the same old story.

Sorry, perhaps I was being a bit touchy based on the some of the previous posts. No harm meant.

As for it being sexier, I certainly cannot deny that it can add a hell of a lot more to the local cultural scene than internal migration. One need only look at how Toronto is different today than it was 15-20 years ago to see the benefits of international immigration.

That said, I stand by my earlier statement that the problem with international immigration is that it is often based on limited information.

Also, I am quite shocked to see the downward trend in Ontarion wrt being a point of entry of international immigrants. While not a massive decrease - yet - it is interesting none the less.

Until SC comes out with real numbers though it is just guessing as to where everyone is going to. Perhaps Nunavut will see a big spike!!

BTW, I too am getting tired of all these media articles on Alberta's growth. That said it is the end of the year, journalists appear to be lazy, the weather has calmed down in BC and fortunately there is no major death or mayhem in Canada, so what else do they have to full the paper with??

Waterlooson · #92 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 3:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vid

"That's starting to change"

Which means it won't be fully reflected with the data we have right now.

Yes, you are right. Applicants trying to immigrate to Canada under the skilled immigrant category are now having to wait about 5 years for approval.

malek · #93 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 3:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taller Better

This happens every night in Montreal? I thought it was a nice peaceful
place. Do even you get called a "frog", malek? I haven't heard anyone called a frog
since the 60's, I didn't realize it still happened. That is about as bad as you
calling all Canadians outside of Quebec "squareheads"!
I've never heard anyone in Montreal ("Torontonian" or otherwise) call anyone else a "frog", and in 21 one
years here in Toronto I have never heard the term used even once. You must
live in a shocking neighbourhood, malek! I guess I am happy to stay where I am!

i'm a clubbing photographer and see these things ALOT. I am not out everyday but everytime I go (fridays and saturdays with thursdays and sundays sometimes) out I see this kind of behavior.

Yes I got called a frog once only!!

Waterlooson · #94 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 4:04 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by malek

i'm a clubbing photographer and see these things ALOT. I am not out everyday but everytime I go (fridays and saturdays with thursdays and sundays sometimes) out I see this kind of behavior.

Yes I got called a frog once only!!

Oh, so that's why you occasionally leap to conclusions.

vid · #95 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 4:11 AM**

I think I was the one that called him a frog...

But, hey, if you read his posts, he had it coming.

Taller Better · #96 Posted: **Dec 30, 2006, 5:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by malek

Yes I got called a frog once only!!

You got called a frog because you speak French? That is bizarre!
Honestly I have not heard that term used in decades. I had no idea it
was still in use. I've been called a tapette in Montreal, and a squarehead... but such is life!