People need to be given a reason to stay in Newfoundland and Labrador according to Common Front NL.
Alyse Stuart was reacting to the latest figures showing nearly 1,300 people pulled up stakes and left the province in the first quarter of the this year. Statistics Canada projections show things are only going to get worse.
Stuart told VOCM Morning Show co-host Fred Hutton says the solutions are clear.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province that saw a decrease in population during the first quarter of the year. Alyse Stewart of Common Front says its a serious concern. @590VOCM @Fred_Hutton pic.twitter.com/o2b5V2IulJ
— Gerri Lynn Mackey (@GerriLynnMackey) September 19, 2019
She says we already know why young people stay in province. The reasons include affordable child care, work and decent wages, and newcomers want to be able to build community but don’t always feel welcome.
The unemployment rate is among the biggest challenges facing the province.
She says a lot of things are focused on the Avalon, and for young people in rural NL, the option is moving to St. John’s or to Toronto where there are more job opportunities and minimum wage is higher.
Access to affordable child care is also a huge issue facing young families.
Immediate Action Required to Stave Off Population Drop in NL says Opposition
The Opposition labour critic says Stats Can’s latest population projections paint a “dismal picture” of the province’s future, and he’s calling for immediate action from the province and Ottawa.
Paul Dinn says Statistics Canada considered nine different projection scenarios for the country, and under all of them, Newfoundland and Labrador is on track for a major decline over the next quarter century.
Under the best-case scenario, the province’s population will drop from 525,400 people to 503,800 by 2042-43. That’s a loss of more than 20,000 people.
Under the worst-case scenario, the population will drop by nearly one fifth to less than 435,000.
That’s while the Canadian population is forecast to boom.
He’s demanding a concerted federal-provincial strategy to get the population growing.
