Long-time reader/commenter painted turtle found this interesting tidbit on BC migration via greaterfool blog: By the Numbers: Quarterly International Migration
While the net loss of 727 people from BC to other countries in Q4 2010 is, in and of itself, a small number (see Figure 1), it is significant both in terms of its direction—being the first time that BC’s quarterly net international migration has been negative in Statistics Canada’s database, which dates back to 1972 and in its magnitude of change from previous quarters. While a seasonal pattern is evident in BC’s quarterly migration data, the decline in Q4 net international migration was much more pronounced in 2010 than in previous years, falling from a net inflow of 16,371 international migrants in Q3 2010 (the second‐highest on record in the past 38 years, after only Q3 2008), to a net outflow of 727 international migrants in Q4 2010.
Why the significant shift from historical trends? As it turns out, the answer lies not in a significant change in immigration or emigration levels, but in changes in the number of non‐permanent residents living in both Canada and in BC. For the most part, non- permanent residents are people residing in Canada who hold a work or study permit, and their dependants, as well as those holding Minister’s permits or claiming refugee status.
The significant outflow of non‐permanent residents nationally was also reflected in most provinces. Alberta saw the number of non‐permanent residents decline by 6,725, Saskatchewan by 414, Manitoba by 406, Ontario by 12,603, and Quebec by 5,900. The most notable changes were, however, in the west. In only two provinces (BC and Alberta) was immigration not significant enough to balance the outflow of non‐ permanent residents, thus resulting in declines in total net international migration of 727 in BC and 2,092 in Alberta
