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Statistics Canada is reporting a population decrease last quarter for New Brunswick — its largest quarterly decline since the 1970s, according to an economic development consultant.
National data released this shows the population as of Oct. 1 had decreased across Canada.
In New Brunswick there was a drop of 0.1 per cent, or about 1,052 people.
Consultant David Campbell in Moncton said non-permanent residents were the main driver behind the change.
“The main issue is that we’re seeing a lot of what are called non-permanent residents leaving,” Campbell said. “So their work permits are ending, or their study permits are ending and they’re … kicked out of the country, they’re leaving the country.”
Campbell said that last quarter, New Brunswick welcomed 2,900 permanent residents, who “are coming here to live permanently and pursue their career goals.”
But there was also a loss in inter-provincial net migration, he said, with 3,000 moving into the province from other parts of Canada and 4,000 moving out.
New Brunswick’s natural growth rate, or births versus deaths, came in at a net decline of 300. That figure, Campbell said, has long been in the negative.
Janick Cormier, Atlantic vice-president for Restaurants Canada, said the decline has been “devastating” for the industry.
“It’s creating very challenging situations for a lot of our operators, especially in the more rural regions of the province, where the population is older,” Cormier said in an interview. “We simply don’t have a a large local labour pool to to tap into.”
Cormier said operators are in some cases reducing their hours or menu offerings to try to stay afloat with fewer staff.
According to Campbell, bringing more permanent residents into New Brunswick will be essential.
But Ottawa’s move to reduce the number of annual permanent and non-permanent residents might make that more difficult, he said.
“The median age in the province in the 1970s was 24, and now it’s 45,” Campbell said. “So we’re just getting a lot older and we need younger people to move here.
“If we don’t have a workforce, our economy will stagnate and, and it has, quite frankly.”
Campbell said that means less tax revenue for governments, fewer workers for key industries, and ultimately a lower quality of life in the province.
This summer New Brunswick announced it would take in 400 asylum claimants over two years, as part of a deal with Ottawa that would allow the province 1,500 more permanent residents under the Provincial Nominee Program.
But Cormier believes non-permanent residents should also be part of the conversation.
“A lot of them are coming to Canada thinking they will build a life here,” she said.
“People can’t renew … their work permits, but they might have already purchased their home in New Brunswick, and were really planning on settling here and building life here, and unfortunately are being told [they] need to go back home.”