Alberta's Boom Pulls Atlantic Canadians Westward [Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, APEC]

Alberta’s energy-driven economic boom is creating a substantial increase in the demand for workers and stimulating a huge influx of migrants, including Atlantic Canadians. While net migration from Atlantic Canada to Alberta is at a record high, total annual outmigration from the Atlantic region to all Canadian provinces is still below previous peaks. However, what makes this outflow a potentially bigger concern than in the past is that the previous peaks of outmigration were fairly short-lived and the underlying trends for population and labour force growth were much stronger in earlier periods. Outmigration to Alberta is therefore accelerating the tightening of Atlantic labour markets caused by underlying demographic trends and a persistent loss of young, well-educated people from the region. This Report Card examines the factors behind the recent surge in outmigration to Alberta, the labour market impacts in Atlantic Canada, and how some Atlantic companies are responding to the challenge.