New Brunswick’s PNP to increase their immigrants admission targets

The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick won the recent provincial election and pledged to increase immigration to the province to help the population and the economy grow.

New Brunswick could benefit from an increase in the number of newcomers over the next three years thanks to the policies proposed by the Progressive Conservative Party. Residents of New Brunswicker, re-elected the Progressive Conservative government on Monday, September 14.

During the election campaign, outgoing Prime Minister Blaine Higgs pledged to continue his government’s five-year action plan on population growth. The government had already announced its goal of attracting 7,500 immigrants per year by 2024, the maximum authorized by the federal government.

“It was fun to see, during the campaign, that the two big parties were arguing over the promise of strong immigration flows,” said New Brunswick economist Richard Saillant, referring to the ambition of the Liberal Party to welcome 10,000 new immigrants per year over the next year. decade.

The Progressive Conservative Party has said its goal is to attract 10,000 people per year to the province by 2027.

New Brunswick wants to increase the number of immigrants proficient in the French language through their Provincial Nominee Program to support the growth of Francophone culture. The party’s platform sets a goal that would allow Francophone immigrants to constitute 33% of the population by 2024.

This target, which would reflect the proportion of Francophones in New Brunswick’s population, was to be reached this year, but has been postponed and is now being restored.

Higgs says the key to increasing the population is attracting families to the province while encouraging them to stay. In its platform, the party has set a retention rate target of 75% for the next five years.

Another goal of the party is to work with higher education institutions and professional associations to attract international students, professionals, skilled workers, and keep young people in the province. The party promises to continue investing in experiential learning initiatives, like FutureNB, which has already helped more than 1,000 students connect with 240 employers.

New Brunswick faces a labor shortage due to the lack of skilled workers. According to provincial government projections, some 120,000 jobs will be vacant over the next ten years. The low birth rate, the growth of the elderly population, and the rate of youth migration have created a serious shortage of skilled workers in the province.

New Brunswick plans to continue to depend on immigrants to increase their population, as newcomers have helped the province experience the longest period of sustained growth since the 1990s. The migration of large numbers to the province will lead to population growth and will help meet the needs of the labor market.

During his campaign, Higgs said New Brunswick’s population grew by more than 4,000 people last year, and that growth was almost entirely due to immigration. Statistics Canada estimates the population of the province at approximately 780,900.

The premier also said in January that the province would open offices in India and Europe to promote immigration to New Brunswick. This initiative aims to attract foreign workers and investors interested in New Brunswick.

Higgs said the government business development agency, Opportunities New Brunswick, is committed to attracting businesses in emerging sectors such as cybersecurity, digital health, and energy innovation in the years to come.

Reference is taken from CIC News