The balance of power in Canada shifted westward in 2006, with the population of British Columbia and Alberta surpassing Quebec for the first time.
The booming oil and construction industries, as well as robust trade and the lead-up to the 2010 Olympics pushed people westward. B.C. and Alberta had 7.69 million people compared to Quebec's 7.65 million.
The booming oil business pushed Alberta's economic growth to the highest-ever level for a province, according to Statistics Canada, and is forecast to continue pushing unemployment down to 2.9 percent by 2008.