More Canadians are choosing to move to Red Deer

More people moving from other parts of the country are calling Red Deer home thanks to more affordable housing and stronger economic prospects on the Prairies.

Red Deer saw 1,277 Canadians move to the city between July 2022 and July 2023, the city’s highest inter-provincial migration since 2005-2006, when 1,476 arrived.

Alberta has overtaken British Columbia as the region with the largest gains from population exchanges between provinces, according to Statistics Canada’s Canada’s Population Evaluations: Subprovincial Areas report.

Calgary attracted the most migration from other provinces, growing by 26,662 residents, followed by 16,082 in Edmonton and 1,651 in Lethbridge. It was the highest interprovincial gain in any of these cities since at least 2001-2002.

Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Robinson said it’s good to see Alberta’s four largest cities growing.

“Lethbridge is kind of ahead of the curve in terms of economic development, but we will catch up,” Robinson said.

“The (Red Deer) unemployment rate has been quite high compared to the rest of the province, but it is starting to turn around.”

Stats Canada says the migration is in line with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 housing market outlook.

“This (CMHC) report indicates that affordable home prices and stronger economic prospects in the Prairies make them particularly attractive to homebuyers and job seekers, at the expense of Ontario and British Columbia,” Stats Canada said.

Vancouver experienced its largest net loss (-4,795) in interprovincial migration in more than two decades, after a net gain (+10,892) the year before. Each Ontario’s metropolitan area census also recorded a net loss in interprovincial migration for the second year in a row.

Robinson said if people sell their properties in big cities like Toronto or Vancouver, they can buy comparable homes, or better yet, at a much lower cost in Central Alberta, even if home prices here rise. Affordability is a big draw, but migration can also be driven by Alberta’s industries.

“We do know that we have probably the most robust and active renewable energy sector in the country, whether it’s hydrogen development, whether it’s solar, wind, carbon capture or any of those industries – it blooms here. These are new industries, but they align with the oil industry because some of the work is similar,” Robinson said.

Broker Dale Russell, of RE/MAX Real Estate Central Alberta, agreed that more people are coming to Red Deer from Ontario, and especially British Columbia. Many are moving to be closer to family, which began during the pandemic, and their housing dollars are buying much more.

“They’re laughing,” Russell said of housing prices here compared to B.C

Also, more Calgarians who work from home are moving to Red Deer because they can’t afford to buy in Calgary. But buyers are facing a serious inventory shortage in Red Deer and central Alberta, he said.

“More people are moving here than new houses are being built. The rental properties are full. People cannot find housing, especially in the lower price ranges.”

Data from Stats Canada shows that about 333,000 Canadians have moved from one province or territory to another, and Alberta saw the largest net gain, adding 55,107 people. That is the largest gain in interprovincial migration at the national level since comparable data became available in 1972.

Alberta’s recent gains reverse the trend from 2016 to 2021, when more people left the province than arrived from other parts of Canada.

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