850,000 — and counting. New Brunswick's population numbers continue to rise
CBC
New Brunswick's population has surpassed 850,000, according to Statistics Canada's population clock.
That's up from 800,000 in 2022.
It represents an increase the size of Miramichi, Edmundston and Bathurst combined, in just two years.
The analysis isn't complete on where people have come from in the last year, but the most recent report for the four years ending in 2022, indicates that three-quarters of the province's population growth was from interprovincial migration, said Pablo Miah a senior data analyst at the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training.
"People who can move — who are able to move — are moving to smaller provinces to find affordable housing, to find schooling for their families," Miah said.
The remaining 25 per cent growth was made up of "permanent movers to New Brunswick," he said, including permanent residents and excluding non-citizens who have temporary work or study permits.
New Brunswick's growth rate is on par with the national rate of nine per cent, but Miah said it's hard to say whether that will continue.
"The post-covid surge and subsequent inflows have gone down quite a bit," he said.
Remi Arsenault recently moved back to New Brunswick after retiring from a 20-year career in the military.
"My nieces are here so I came back to spend time with family, basically," said Arsenault, who is originally from Bouctouche.
He also likes New Brunswick's location because it's central to Maine, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Arsenault said he and his partner are enjoying the hustle and bustle of life in booming Dieppe, but it wasn't easy to find a home.
When they first moved to New Brunswick, they had to settle for renting a house for a year in Memramcook.
The place they finally found within their $350,000 budget was vacated by people who were originally from Brazil.
