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CALGARY — Alberta has once again become Canada’s top destination for people moving between provinces, reversing a five-year period when more residents left the province than arrived, according to a new study from the Fraser Institute.
The report, which examined interprovincial migration trends between 1995-96 and 2024-25, found Alberta attracted a net total of 538,824 migrants from elsewhere in Canada during that period, more than double the total recorded by any other province.
British Columbia ranked second with net interprovincial migration of 214,883 people.
The study notes Alberta experienced a temporary reversal of its long-term trend between 2015-16 and 2020-21, when the province recorded net out-migration amid a prolonged downturn in the energy sector. Since then, however, Alberta has returned to attracting more Canadians from other provinces than it loses.
“When Canadians choose to move between provinces, it can signal a jurisdiction’s desirable attributes, such as housing and job opportunities, and once again, Alberta is the most attractive province for interprovincial migration,” said Grady Munro, a senior policy analyst with the Fraser Institute and co-author of the report.
Researchers examined migration patterns by province, age group and origin and destination of migrants over nearly three decades.
The study found Alberta recorded the strongest overall gains from interprovincial migration, equivalent to 10.7 per cent of its current population.
The findings align with recent population growth trends in communities across Alberta, including Fort McMurray and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where employers continue to recruit workers from across the country for opportunities in the energy, construction and service sectors.
While Alberta and British Columbia recorded the largest gains, several provinces experienced significant losses.
Quebec saw the largest net outflow, losing 255,988 residents to other provinces between 1995-96 and 2024-25. Ontario followed with net out-migration of 168,166 people.
Measured as a share of population, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the largest loss at 10.6 per cent, followed by Manitoba at 10.3 per cent and Saskatchewan at 9.8 per cent.
The report suggests migration patterns can offer insight into how Canadians perceive economic opportunities and quality of life across different regions of the country.
“Understanding the relative attractiveness of different provinces over time is important since it can lead to discussions about specific opportunities or challenges faced by different provinces,” Munro said.
Interprovincial migration has become an increasingly important contributor to Alberta’s population growth in recent years, alongside international immigration and natural population growth.
The Fraser Institute is an independent public policy research organization based in Vancouver.
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