New Brunswick Reaches Record Population Of 776,827
New Brunswick saw its population grow again to 776,827 in the year up to July 1, 2019, mostly due to international migration, according to estimates by Statistics Canada.
The addition of 5,906 people in New Brunswick marks the largest single-year growth for the province in the last 30 years.
The larger increases started in 2016, when New Brunswick, along with the rest of Canada, took in many Syrian refugees. This is a reversal of steady declines that started in early 2000, when the province’s population was at a high of 750,786.
Other programs accelerating immigration, like the Atlantic Immigration Pilot program, has since been in place to help businesses that are struggling to find workers.
In 2017-2018, the province’s population grew by 0.54 per cent, before growing by 0.8 per cent in 2018-2019.
New Brunswick Business Council president and CEO Adrienne O’Pray says the growth numbers are showing that things are going in the right direction.
“It’s great to see these numbers come that show that we’re seeing an increase in population. Absolutely that’s good for N.B. in so many ways – socially, economically,” she said. “The availability of labour in all levels and all wage scales is really critical for New Brunswick.”
Now that there’s momentum, she says, “we can’t take our foot off the gas” if New Brunswick wants to fill the 120,000 jobs expected to be vacant in the next decade due to retirements.
She says stakeholders in the population growth strategy need to continue to work hard on attracting more newcomers, and retaining those who have come to settle in New Brunswick and the province’s young people.
New Brunswick’s population growth is still lower than Canada’s 1.4 per cent increase. The country’s population grew by 531,497 to nearly 37.6 million in the year up to July 1, 2019. This was the highest-observed annual increase in the number of people living in the country and the highest growth among G7 countries.
Around 82 per cent of that growth was due to temporary and permanent immigration, and 18 per cent was from natural increases (number of births over deaths).
International migration boosted the population in almost all parts of the country, with the Atlantic provinces seeing the highest growth on record since the 1970s. P.E.I.’s population grew by 2.2 per cent, the highest in the region, followed by Nova Scotia at 1.2 per cent.
Only Newfoundland and Labrador saw a decrease, of 0.8 per cent, showing that it fell behind all other provinces and territories in the country. This was the third consecutive year Newfoundland and Labrador saw its population drop.
But Atlantic Canada remains home to the oldest populations in the country.
Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest proportion of people aged 65 and older at 21.5 per cent, the first time the province topped the list. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had successively held the oldest province spot in the last decade. All three provinces have lost many young people to other jurisdictions in the last few decades, contributing to the acceleration of population aging.
Canada’s population continues to age too. The number of people age 100 and above topped 10,000 for the first time. Baby boomers now account for the majority of seniors.
O’Pray notes that programs like the Atlantic Immigration Pilot have been key for businesses attracting workers to the region and many companies have benefited from it. The good thing about the program was that it was tailored to the needs of the Atlantic Provinces, which has common issues with regards to population growth.
“While that’s really positive, I think there’s still room for a lot more dialogue to make the process easier for employers – not just the private sector, but also the public and community sectors. There’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure that the process is not too onerous and too lengthy,” she said.
The process can be especially burdensome for small businesses, non-profits and community organizations that may not have the resources of large companies, O’Pray noted.
“If we could be working together to make that process easier for everyone including the person that wants to relocate to Atlantic Canada…there’s a lot of potential there to make it even better.”
Additionally, the provincial and municipal governments, businesses, and community organizations in New Brunswick also need to think ahead on critical infrastructure like housing in both urban and rural communities, she said.
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