COMMENTARY: Atlantic Canada once again losing young working-age people |
Newfoundland and Labrador Opinion
Share this Story : PNI Atlantic News Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr
COMMENTARY: Atlantic Canada once again losing young working-age people
The aging and depopulation of Atlantic Canada is a quietly ticking regional timebomb. So quiet, regional governments appear oblivious.
Subscribe now to access this story and more:
Unlimited access to the website and app
Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts
Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists
Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.
Unlimited access to the website and app
Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts
Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists
Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.
Access additional stories every month
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting community
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
Perhaps this deafness is due to recent good news, which depended on two disappearing factors — COVID, which led thousands of young Canadians to relocate to Atlantic Canada, and a massive increase in international migration to the region, skewed to younger working-age people. COVID, as a crisis, is over and Ottawa is reducing international migration, from a target of 500,000 annually to 370,000 by 2027. Correspondingly, Atlantic depopulation and aging are returning to their historically-disastrous paths.
Indeed, Atlantic Canada experienced a COVID-migration surge. From 1980-81 to 2017-18, the region annually lost an average of 5,500 young working-age people (ages 15 to 39) while gaining 600 older Canadians (55-plus). Population numbers fell and the region got older. Then, from 2019/2020 to........