APEC Report Highlights the Impact of Outmigration on Atlantic Canada
Date: May 26, 2008
Halifax, NS – Outmigration is a key contributor to the decline in Atlantic Canada’s population. On a net[i] basis, Atlantic Canada lost 72,500 people over the last decade due to outmigration, reducing the region’s population by more than 2%. Outmigration rates are particularly high for young people: over the ten year time span, the Atlantic region lost about 10% of its population in the 15 to 34 age bracket. A discussion of outmigration trends and their implications are discussed in the May APEC Commentary “As Labour Markets Tighten, Will Outmigration Trends Reverse in Atlantic Canada?”
The challenges around outmigration are coming to a head as labour markets tighten in Atlantic Canada. Unemployment rates in Atlantic Canada have fallen to their lowest levels in decades in both urban and rural areas. Labour shortages are contributing to an escalation in wage rates: average weekly wages in Atlantic Canada rose faster than the national average in 2007.
Report author Elizabeth Beale, President and CEO of APEC points out that improving labour markets in Atlantic Canada could draw workers back to Atlantic Canada. “There is certainly promise in the mining and energy sector, not only in Newfoundland and Labrador, but also in New Brunswick, where a number of new projects are expected to drive up employment over the next few years,” said Beale. Indeed, Atlantic Canada made gains in interprovincial migration over the second half of 2007 reversing the westward movement of population in recent quarters.
But what are the chances that outmigration from Atlantic Canada can be reversed on a more sustained basis? “It will take more than a boost in major project activity to eradicate outmigration from Atlantic Canada over the longer term,” said Beale. “To attract younger workers… Atlantic employers will have to make a dedicated effort to increase apprenticeship programs, supply more entry-level positions for new recruits, provide training and advancement programs and offer the flexibility in employment that young people seek”
[i] Interprovincial migration: migrants out less migrants in.
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