The Conference Board of Canada has forecasted that Newfoundland and Labrador’s population will decrease from 527,000 to 482,000 by 2035. The government has been making efforts since 2008 to try and maintain the province’s population, including the setting up of immigration programs for prospective newcomers.
“We’re going to see much weaker economic prospects for Newfoundland over the next 20 years and that will have an effect on the population,” explains Marie-Christine Bernard, associate director of the Conference Board of Canada’s provincial forecast.
The population of the province is expected to decrease more than any other Canadian province over the next two decades. Much of the population is aging and many able-bodied workers must leave the province to find work. For the past three years the death rate has been higher than the birth rate in Newfoundland and Labrador. Immigration may be a factor to offset the population drain in this area of Canada.
In an effort to address the population deficits, the provincial government has undertaken during the past few years multiple measures to attract prospective immigrants and facilitate their permanent settlement. Immigration levels have risen from 450 newcomers in 2007 to over 700. According to Kevin O’Brien, the Advanced Education and Skills minister, Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial nominee program has proven particularly efficient at recruiting newcomers for “hard-to-fill” jobs.
Applicants can apply to the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial nominee program through two different streams: the skilled worker stream and the international graduate stream. For more information and the necessary qualifications for these immigration programs click here.
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