Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Tech Style & Beauty Kitchen & Dining Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNewsCanadaCanadian PoliticsHalf a million Canadians migrated to Alberta over 30 years, making it the country's most popular provinceData from the past three decades show Alberta had the largest net gain from other provinces. Quebec and Ontario lost more than they gainedLast updated 34 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.A U-HAUL moving van driving across a New Brunswick road, with wildlife and city in the background. Photo: SubmittedAlberta is the most attractive destination for Canadians who move between provinces, while Newfoundland and Labrador is the least, a new study shows.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe Fraser Institute report measured that movement, known as interprovincial migration, over the 30 years from 1995 to 2024 using Statistics Canada data. It counted only moves within Canada, not immigration from abroad.Alberta was the magnet. Over the period it gained 538,824 more people from other provinces than it lost, the largest net gain in the country and more than double British Columbia’s 214,883. It drew people from every other province and every age group.The gains came in waves. Alberta drew people heavily in the late 1990s and mid 2000s, lost some between 2015 and 2020, then surged again after 2021.“Alberta across multiple dimensions has been the top destination for people moving within Canada,” said Grady Munro, a senior policy analyst at the Fraser Institute and a co-author of the study. The province stands out, he said, for “some of the highest levels of economic growth, a plethora of job opportunities, relatively higher wages, and for much of its time relatively lower taxes compared to the rest of the country.”The study counts who moved, not why, and Munro said the data cannot prove a cause. Past research points to jobs, wages and taxes, he said, but “we can’t say for certain why exactly we’re seeing the trends that we are.”Alberta was also the top landing spot for the young, drawing a net 192,329 people aged 18 to 24. “These are high school graduates, college students, people very early in their career who have a lot to provide in terms of economic activity for the rest of their life,” Munro said.Quebec and Ontario lost the most people, a net 255,988 and 168,166, respectively. For a province that big, the outflow is a small share of Ontario’s population, but it has been steady for most of the 30-year period. “Frankly, its economy has stagnated and fallen behind the rest of Canada,” Munro said, after decades as the country’s economic powerhouse.Quebec and Manitoba lost people every single year for 30 years.The bigger losses were relative to size. Over 30 years, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Saskatchewan each lost a net outflow worth about a tenth of their current population. By comparison, Quebec’s loss equalled about 2.8 per cent of its current population and Ontario’s about one per cent.The sharpest losses were among the young. Newfoundland and Labrador saw a net 40,480 residents aged 18 to 24 move away over three decades, equal to 97.3 per cent of its current population that age. It does not mean almost all its young people are gone. It means 30 years of steady losses add up to nearly the entire young adult population living there now. No other province came close. New Brunswick, the next-hardest hit, lost a net total equal to about a third of its young.The data does not follow individuals, so it cannot track who moves back to Newfoundland and Labrador. But Munro said “there are greater amounts of younger 18 to 24 year olds leaving than there are coming back.”Newfoundland and Labrador has aged as a result. It now has the oldest population in Canada, with seniors making up about a quarter of residents, and 18 to 24 year olds less than eight per cent, both the most lopsided figures in the country.The numbers also miss one large group. The data leaves out interjurisdictional workers, people who keep a home in one province but travel to another for work, which Munro said is “fairly significant in the Atlantic region.” The figures for the most recent year, 2024-2025, are also preliminary, meaning Statistics Canada could still revise them.Munro said the trend should be a signal to the provinces losing people. The data “can be a wake-up call,” he said, for places that have watched significant numbers leave over the last 30 years.Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. 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