Canadians flock east singing ‘nearer my cod to thee’

ST.JOHN’S, Nfld. — Everybody knows that if you’ve a taste for great music, 24/7 parties, and redheads, The Rock is the go-to province.

And it seems more and more Canadians are doing just that. Going to Newfoundland, that is.

Every year, Atlas Van Lines produces its own snapshot of who’s moving where, and the Atlas people say the map is usually a sign of economic growth. Or lack of it.

If that’s the case, Newfoundland is the place to be (b’y).

For 2010, Atlas says the only areas of Canada that showed a significant net increase in the number of people moving in, as opposed to out, were The Rock and the Yukon.

Atlas trucked 23 loads into Newfoundland and 13 out. And according to this (decidedly unusual) economic indicator, a region gets deemed a winner if more than 55 percent of the moves were inbound.

It’s unclear why Newfoundland stands out. Maybe with oilpatch slowing down a lot of guys returned home.

Saskatchewan, Ontario, B.C., and Alberta are all net losers when it comes to residential moves (which is what Atlas is tracking); while Quebec, Nova Scotia, P.E.I.,  Manitoba, and New Brunswick remained almost neutral. (Well, we’re not sure about P.E.I. For some reason it didn’t “make” the Atlas map).

Ontario, for instance, had 591 inbound moves but 782 people vacated the place (pay attention Dalton McGuinty).

Alberta had 221 in; 310 out.

With the Yukon, there was one move in; none out.

Still. A stat’s a stat.