It is not enough that Alberta is richer than other areas of Canada, it now appears the province is also getting more sex.
It is all because of mobile, nubile young Canadians and immigrants. Alberta fertility rates are tracking much higher than the Canadian average, said demographer Frank Trovato of the University of Alberta, editor of Canadian Studies in Population.
The latest Census Canada figures confirm the trend: in the past five years, the population of Calgary, Alberta’s biggest city, soared 12.6%, the highest growth rate in the country, and far ahead of Canada's biggest cities: Toronto (up 9.2%); Montreal, (up 5.2%) and Vancouver (up 9.3%). About 1,800 people, net, are moving into Calgary every month and the city is leading in immigration inflow. Edmonton, Alberta's capital, ranked second in Canada, with a 12.1 per cent growth surge.
"The dynamic feeds on itself," Trovato explained. "The province is attracting more young people who in turn have more babies and make for a vibrant society that catches the eye of immigrants.”
Over the next eight years, Alberta will need to fill at least 100,000 jobs in the oil industry alone, according to provincial government estimates. Some of the main jobs that will be on offer are for engineers, electricians, and construction workers. Alberta already has the highest gross domestic product per capita in Canada at $70,824 and Calgary has the second-highest median family income in the country, at $88,410.
