Who Comes, Who Stays, Who Leaves Nova Scotia, and Why? (background report)

The rate of increase of Nova Scotia’s population has declined almost continuously since 1945, and the resident population has been aging faster than the rest of Canada. Both of these trends affect the pace of economic activity in the province. To counter the threats to overall population growth there has been an increase in the number of international immigrants coming to the province, and more of these have been staying. Larger provinces still are the main targets for immigrants to Canada, however, which have established communities of earlier settlers and may offer greater opportunities for employment and enterprise.

This is the first of a three part study to examine trends in immigration to Nova Scotia. Subsequent parts will examine the literature to identify possible reasons surrounding location choice, while a third will be a survey of a target population of 3000 immigrants in Nova Scotia to determine their specific location decisions. The two earlier parts will essentially set the stage for the important third part. The entire study is intended to help governments, communities, settlement associations and business groups design policies to attract and retain new immigrants. This report summarizes findings from the first part of the project, based on data obtained from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Statistics Canada, providing context for subsequent investigation.