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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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The Canadian province of Alberta is attracting like a magnet thousands of migrants from other provinces. The recent oil boom and scarcely populated province are ideal combination for economic immigration. But not everybody is moving in. In fact, thousands are also moving out. For them the big oil, far from being a magnet, is a factor that motivates them to move out as soon as possible. Where they move? For many of them, the neighboring province of Saskatchewan is the final stop.

Big money has always attracted lots of people. This was one of the reasons, not the only one considering the religion, why Europeans populated America. This was the reason why the colonists moved inside this vast continent. To large extent this is the reason why millions of people in North America move every year from place to place. Therefore it isn't surprising to see why thousands, perhaps tens of thousand Canadians and others are attracted every year to Alberta after the beginning of the most recent oil boom. What's surprising is to know that thousands are also moving out. For most parts, to the neighboring province of Saskatchewan, a province relatively poorer compared to Alberta.

Two traditional explanations for such development should be eliminated, because they contradict the profile of those moving out. First, people traditionally relocate when they need more money, and this is the source of most of today's economic migration around the world, 300 million people in total. Second, people also move back home after years of immigration when, first, they have make lots of money, or second, when they realize that back home is better after all. Well, none of these explanations really sticks to the case of Albertans, especially Calgarians, who move out of their native province. They don't move in search of higher salaries, and most of them being born in Alberta, don't have special affection toward other places.

The real reason for this recent trend is correlated with the oil boom, not directly, but through the way it affects the real estate market. Albertan real estate is among the hottest in Canada. As far as the big oil attracts more and more newcomers, the residences will become more and more expensive. The current oil boom, however, isn't the first in the history of Alberta. Several booms have been followed by depressions since the early 1970s. Some people, especially in the better half of their middle age, fear that a new depression, it doesn't matter whether caused by economic or political factors, may destroy their new real estate bonanza.

Many people in Calgary, already retired from the labor market, or near retirement, face the same dilemma as those that see their shares rising on the stock market. To sell or not to sell right now? The dilemma in Alberta is even tougher, because cashing in usually involves not only selling at price that tomorrow may look ridiculously low, but also because selling may mean moving out of the booming market, i.e. moving out of Alberta. The place most moving-out Albertans choose for their new home, the neighboring province of Saskatchewan, shows how much they love their province.

A province just east of Alberta, Saskatchewan offers similar climate, landscape, history within Canada, and except for the quantity of oil, very similar to Alberta lifestyle and habits. Moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan, in a sense, is almost like moving within Alberta. The main difference is the real estate market. To put the things in comparison, if in Calgary people can buy for $300,000 nothing more than a mobile house, in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, they can buy a very good-looking family house. Moving from Alberta to Saskatchewan may therefore bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Possible benefits that will make many people in Calgary think twice.

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