Nova Scotia’s population growth has reached an all-time high since 1972, driven largely by record-breaking immigration levels.
The province has had a consistently declining natural population growth rate since 2016.
“Nova Scotia’s natural population change (the number of births, less the number of deaths) has been negative for several years,” writes the Nova Scotia Finance and Treasury Board.
“Between April 1, 2018 and June 30, 2018, there were 2,164 births and 2,281 deaths, amounting to a natural population decline of 117.”
Over a 12 month period from October 1, 2018 to October 1, 2019, the province has seen a growth in population of 1.28% or a total of 12,339 new residents.
A majority of the new residents to the province have been immigrants. According to Statistics Canada estimates, 58% of the population growth was driven by immigration. Nova Scotia saw a total of 7,165 immigrants enter the province during this time period.
Meanwhile, Canadians moving into the province from other provinces contributed only 1,090 new residents.
Another record was broken in the third quarter of the year, between July 1 and October 1, 2019. This period saw a growth of 5,373 newcomers to the province, 2,471 of which were immigrants.
According to the Government of Nova Scotia, this is the highest immigration level in a quarter since World War II.
“Immigration is a priority and is key to filling persistent labour needs and increasing our population,” said Nova Scotia’s Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab.
