-10.1 C
Ottawa
Friday, January 10, 2025

Who’s moving to Nova Scotia? Population growth mainly driven by international migration

Date:

Nova Scotia

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Population growth in N.S. now mainly driven by international migration

The flow of people moving to Nova Scotia from other Canadian provinces has slowed down over the last two years, meaning the province’s population growth is now primarily made up by international migration.

Pandemic-driven stream of people moving to N.S. from other provinces has slowed

Shaina Luck · CBC News

·

Immigration becoming main source of N.S. population growth

Recent figures from Statistics Canada show how many people are moving to Nova Scotia and where they’re coming from. It comes at a time when politicians are having heated talks about immigration and how to handle population growth. Shaina Luck has the story.

The flow of people moving to Nova Scotia from other Canadian provinces has slowed down over the last two years, meaning the province’s population growth is now primarily made up of international migration. 

Were it not for people moving to Nova Scotia, the population would be in decline, with deaths outnumbering births. 

That’s according to recent population estimates from Statistics Canada released on Dec. 17, 2024.  

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a large bump in the number of people moving to Nova Scotia from other provinces, notably Ontario and British Columbia. 

Ontario was the province that saw the most exchanges during that bump. Between Jan. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2024, Statistics Canada estimated more than 45,000 people moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia. At the same time, more than 24,000 people moved the other way.

Though people are still moving to Nova Scotia from other provinces, the pace of these interprovincial moves has slowed from what happened during the pandemic.

And with consistently fewer births than deaths every quarter since fall 2016, the province’s “natural increase” is also heading downward. 

For example, between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2024, Statistics Canada estimated 2,912 deaths in the province compared to 2,016 births.  

This leaves immigration as the main driver of population growth.

The most recent available estimates cover the period up until Oct. 1, 2024. Statistics Canada estimated Nova Scotia’s population at 1,079,676 as of that day. 

While immigrants make up a small portion of the total provincial population, permanent and non-permanent immigrants have accounted for a large portion of the population increase in Nova Scotia since 2021. 

Statistics Canada defines non-permanent immigrants as people from another country who live in Canada with a work or study permit, or those who have claimed asylum in Canada.

The province’s recently re-elected Progressive Conservative government has set what Premier Tim Houston calls a “stretch goal” of reaching two million people by 2060 in an effort to stimulate economic growth.  

Some political leaders said they have concerns about that target, saying they believe population growth must be handled in a manner that does not put a strain on housing and health care. These views are being shaped by a period of population change with no equivalent for decades. 

The Nova Scotia Department of Finance noted the period between Jan. 1, 2024, and March 31, 2024, was the largest quarter of immigration in records dating back to 1946, but that record was surpassed just three months later. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shaina Luck is an investigative reporter with CBC Nova Scotia. She has worked with local and network programs including The National and The Fifth Estate. Email: shaina.luck@cbc.ca

    know more

    Popular

    More like this
    Related

    Tourists flock to the Cabot Trail, but climate change is making it more costly to welcome them

    Nova ScotiaCape Breton's Cabot Trail is a destination for...

    Island family hit with $345,000 bill from P.E.I. government after oil spill

    An Island family has been handed a $345,915 environmental cleanup...

    First Liberal caucus member comes forward to replace Trudeau as others wait for leadership race rules

    PoliticsOttawa MP Chandra Arya is the first Liberal caucus...

    Man Utd ‘open to top offers’ in January for star player as main ‘reason’ given for possible exit

    Man Utd are ready to sell Marcus Rashford in the January transfer window with the forward “definitely not unsellable” under Ruben Amorim, according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg. The Red Devils have been in terrible form this season with Man Utd currently 13th in the Premier League table after winning just five of their