Greater Moncton Targets 2,700 Immigrants A Year By 2024
MONCTON – Riding on momentum from their first immigration strategy implemented in 2014-2018, the municipalities of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe are setting higher targets for the next four years.
The Greater Moncton region aims to attract 1,900 immigrants next year, and 2,700 a year by 2024, up from 1,450 last year. Thirty-three per cent of that will be Francophone immigrants. It also aims to double the international student base, including at private universities and colleges, to 3,000 in four years.
The municipalities announced the targets in a release of its 2020-2024 immigration strategy in front of approximately 150 people at the Avenir Centre on Thursday.
“The four-year strategy reveals a commitment to making the Greater Moncton area one of Canada’s most attractive and inclusive communities for newcomers to settle and flourish,” said Myriam Mekni, the chair of the Greater Moncton Local Immigration Partnership (GMLIP) and executive director of the area’s multicultural association MAGMA.
That is the vision of the 2020-2024 strategy, which also targets a one-year retention rate of 85 per cent, and a five-year retention rate of 75 per cent.
Over the next 10-to-15 years, Greater Moncton is expected to see more than 17,000 workers retire. The number of youth in proportion to older people in the workforce have also declined. In 2001, there were 263 people aged 15-24 for every 100 people aged 55 and above. That’s fallen to 75 in 2018.
The strategy was created after consultations with more than 60 organizations and over 600 people, including business groups, industry associations, ethnocultural groups, settlement organizations and citizens through an online survey.
It’s built around three pillars: attracting talent, ensuring newcomers put down roots, and broadening community collaboration and mobilization.
MLA Bruce Fitch said the target “fits very, very well” with the provincial strategy of attracting 7,500 immigrants a year.
“We’re doing very well in the last five years but again, there’s room to grow and there’s always room for more. So it’s great that we’re all working towards that common goal,” he said.
Mayor Dawn Arnold said the successful implementation of the first strategy was due to a “concerted effort” by not only the three levels of government, but also settlement organizations, business groups, employers, and grassroots community support.
Many of those organizations sit at the GMLIP, which was launched to implement the first immigration strategy and will be in charge of the second one, too.
Both strategies were developed with the help of Jupia Consultants. David Campbell, an economist who founded Jupia, said now many more people know about the importance of attracting population.
Newcomers are more visible at schools and other public spaces, as well. But there’s also more competition with other jurisdictions across the country that also need to grow their population.
He said the targets set out in this strategy are “realistic” and in line with the region’s plan to grow GDP by 2-to-2.5 per cent a year. But the strategy also has a stretch goal of 2,800 immigrants annually by 2021 and 3,500 a year by 2024.
It also includes plans to ensure housing development is in line with immigration targets, and advocate for graduates of private colleges like McKenzie and Oulton to qualify for post-graduate work permits.
The strategy’s seven objectives are:
- Promote Greater Moncton internationally as a destination to study, advance careers, do business and live.
- Strengthen alignment of immigrant attraction efforts to labour market demand and economic opportunities.
- Expand and improve the pathways for immigrants.
- Significantly broaden both public awareness and engagement.
- Expand and enhance settlement services to meet the needs of immigrants and foster better workforce outcomes.
- Invest in and strengthen the immigration support ecosystem.
- Strengthen Greater Moncton’s leadership and advocacy role
Campbell said although a lot of the conversation regarding immigration circles around labour needs, that’s not all immigrants are here for.
“Yes, we need workers but what we really want is people to help us build sustainable communities and richer culture moving forward,” he said. “We don’t want temporary workers. We want permanent citizens”
The GMLIP will publish a report each year with updates, while retention rates can be tracked through Medicare data as long as the person moves within Canada.
Immigration has become the primary source of population growth for Greater Moncton. In 2009, only 22 per cent of growth came from immigration, while migration from within the province made up 41 per cent of growth. Last year, immigration contributed to 67 per cent of growth, while intraprovincial migration fell to 22 per cent.
Immigrants in Greater Moncton, including international students, are estimated to contribute $255 million to the provincial GDP and more than $40 million in taxes paid to the province annually.