Alberta leads nation on DIY moving index in 2021

Calgary was the top destination in Alberta for those moving here using U-Haul

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More people are moving to Alberta than most other provinces, according to a new report.

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Do-it-yourself moving company U-Haul recently published data from its U-Haul Growth Index, finding Alberta led the nation with a 33 per cent, year-over-year increase in one-way U-Haul truck customers in 2021.

At the same time, departures from the province rose 29 per cent. Overall, the report shows that more than 50 per cent of all U-Haul traffic in Alberta was inflow to the province.

“In the last year, we have seen lot of movement into Alberta,” stated Naga Chennamsetty, U-Haul area district vice-president of Western Canada, in a recent press release.

Calgary was the top landing spot for DIY movers to the province, the report found, followed by Red Deer-Lacombe, Medicine Hat-Redcliff and Airdrie.

“More communities are developing in and around major cities,” Chennamsetty said. “Not only that, but the Canadian Rockies are so accessible to residents here, and they offer a variety of recreational activities.”

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The province ranked third in 2020 on the index behind British Columbia and Ontario, which rank second and third this past year.

Ontario, however, had the highest number of cities — 14 in all — on the index’s top destination municipalities in Canada. North Bay ranked first, followed by Belleville and Sudbury. Quebec City had fourth spot on U-Haul growth cities, while Calgary had fifth spot. Edmonton did not make the list of top-25 growth cities, based on U-Haul’s Growth Index.

The index is compiled based on net gains of one-way U-Haul truck traffic arriving in a city or province versus trucks departing from a city or province.