‘Remarkable turnaround’: Census figures show the Maritimes are growing rapidly
Global News
People moving from other provinces to the East Coast has grown increasingly popular in the past five years, according to new census figures released Wednesday.
After living in Toronto for 25 years, Beth Hitchcock was ready for a change, having grown weary of big city life.
Over the years, the veteran magazine editor had developed an appreciation for the easygoing lifestyle in Nova Scotia, where she had spent time visiting friends and attending a graduate-level course at the University of King’s College in Halifax.
“Whenever I would go back to Toronto, I would be invariably sitting in the back of a cab on the Gardiner (Expressway) in traffic, seeing the city approach — and I would feel sort of depressed,” Hitchcock said. “I didn’t feel that deep sigh of, ‘Oh, I’m home.”‘
In January 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was making its unwelcome debut, she decided to move to the East Coast, an interprovincial shift that has grown increasingly popular in the past five years, according to new census figures released Wednesday.
“Nova Scotia sells itself,” she said from her recently renovated home in Dartmouth, N.S., noting the relatively reasonable housing prices and, of course, the lure of the ocean. “I craved quiet, I craved ease. Everyone here can find a place of solitude by the water.”
Statistics Canada says that in the past five years, the three Maritime provinces have largely succeeded in reversing a decades-long decline in population, thanks in part to a steady influx of Canadians from other provinces — particularly Ontario and Alberta.
Patrick Brannon, senior researcher at the independent Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, said the numbers illustrate a reversal for a region once famous for routinely losing too many of its young people to other provinces.
“We’re now seeing a lot of people, especially in the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021, looking to get out of the big cities and go to smaller locations for more space and cheaper housing costs,” Brannon said. “The pandemic accelerated some of those trends”
King was a prominent figure in the demonstration that rolled into the national capital in 2022, which saw protesters entrench themselves in downtown Ottawa for three weeks.
Dermo, which has been detected in Canada for the first time, has spread from oyster to oyster in New Brunswick.
The latest draft negotiating text released Friday pledged $250 billion by 2035, less than a quarter of what developing countries requested.
The officials say Ottawa will be chipping in $108.5 million over the next three years to Ontario’s existing Student Nutrition Program and First Nations Student Nutrition Program.
A mother who was struck by a vehicle, along with the father and three other children, has now died from her injuries in hospital just over a month after the collision.
Erin McQueen believes her tools were stolen on Nov.16 while her truck was parked in Kelowna near Ellis Street and Clement Avenue.
"I am fighting for my daughter." How one Regina family is looking to the community to help raise money for a potentially live saving trip to the United States.
Kingston hosts the 59th Vanier Cup, featuring Laval vs. Laurier, promising excitement, economic impact, and family-friendly events. Full details on the big game.
Saskatchewan has been battling an increase in overdoses for many years. But based on recent data, Saskatchewan’s response to drug toxicity may be working.
A council representing Montreal and the suburban municipalities will vote on whether to stop the practice in the six West Island suburbs that treat their water with fluoride.
Trudeau said he would prefer the North American free trade agreement to remain in place, but that Ottawa was 'leaving all doors open' to secure Canadian interests.