Back to SearchA recent report prepared for the Greater Moncton Local Immigration Partnership (GMLIP) shows record levels of newcomers now living in Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview.
“We’re making tremendous progress towards our targets,” says Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold. “We realize there are challenges as a result of that growth, such as housing and access to health care, but we’re optimistic that government and community partners will tackle these issues together as we continue to make Greater Moncton an attractive and inclusive place for newcomers.”
Immigration Trends Update: Greater Moncton—a May 2022 analysis by Moncton-based Jupia Consultants Inc.—reveals that relative to population size, Greater Moncton attracted more migrants from elsewhere in Canada, and immigrants combined, than over 90 per cent of Canada’s urban centres, including Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver.
“Immigration is, by far, the top source of population growth in Greater Moncton,” the report notes. “In 2020 and 2021, net interprovincial migration also increased and some of those migrants were immigrants who initially settled in Toronto and other parts of Canada. This matters because in the new reality of aging populations and tightening labour markets, the jurisdictions that can show an ability to attract and retain talent from around the world will be the best poised to attract investment and to grow.”
The Immigration Trends report also indicates that the population of the City of Moncton grew by 7,600 between the censuses of 2016 and 2021—a record level.
“The under 40 population in the city was among the fastest growing compared to all mid-(size) and large cities in Canada,” the report says.
The document also highlights data showing Dieppe to be one of the fastest growing municipalities in New Brunswick, with 10.8 per cent growth between recent censuses, while Riverview’s population grew by a strong 4.7 per cent.
“Dieppe is proud to be part of such an inclusive and welcoming community, indicates Mayor Yvon Lapierre. The Jupia report clearly shows the growth we have seen over the past few years. As the largest francophone municipality in New Brunswick, we continue to work with our partners to increase immigration and ensure the retention of newcomers.”
“It’s exciting to welcome so many new residents to Riverview, we all benefit from this positive social and economic development,” explained Mayor Andrew J. LeBlanc. “Creating a safe and inclusive community is a priority for our team and I like to think that is one of the driving factors that’s attracting folks from near and far to call Greater Moncton.”
Other key findings of the Immigration Trends report include:
- Greater Moncton’s rate of inward migration—people moving from other parts of the country to this area—is 196 per 10,000, triple the rate of Fredericton and Saint John.
- The number of people in the labour market in the Greater Moncton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)—which includes Moncton, Riverview, Dieppe and surrounding areas—expanded by 10,200 between March 2017 and March 2022. This represented a 13 per cent increase, the fourth best growth rate among the 35 CMAs across Canada.
- 2021 was a record year for Permanent Resident (PR) admissions, with 2,290 individuals admitted to the Greater Moncton CMA. This was 43 per cent of all PRs admitted to New Brunswick, up from 40 per cent in 2020 and 32 per cent in 2019.
- In the Moncton CMA, 60 per cent of new PRs in 2021 were under the age of 30.
- The local community is attracting more individuals from India, Nigeria, Brazil and Morocco than in the past, fewer from China.
- Customer-service, restaurant-related, finance/insurance and information technology were the top occupations represented in the 2021 PR admissions.
- Study permits issued hit a record 2,315 in 2021, driven by nearly 500 issued for Moncton’s Crandall University. This was 40 per cent higher than the previous peak in 2019. (The international student target is 3,000 per year by 2024.)
- A total of 76.1 per cent of immigrants who settled in 2019 were still in the community a year later.
(Access the complete Immigration Trends Update: Greater Moncton report)
Meanwhile, Angelique Reddy-Kalala, Chair of the Local Immigration Partnership pointed to the latest Report on the 2021-2022 Action Plan—the annual report of the Greater Moncton Local Immigration Partnership—to demonstrate the wide range of activities related to immigration underway in the community. “The Local Immigration Partnership works to help implement the Greater Moncton Immigration Strategy 2020-2024, which aims to expand and enhance services for immigrants and to foster better workforce outcomes,” said Reddy-Kalala “This annual report represents key actions by many groups and individuals that helped us to achieve many of the encouraging statistics noted in the report.”
View the full results of the GMLIP annual report. Highlights include:
- A campaign to promote working, studying and living in Greater Moncton
- Efforts to encourage small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) to hire immigrants
- Expanding opportunities for youth engagement and connection to the region
- Broadening the use of social media as a means of attracting immigrants
- Attending (virtually) large-scale national events to promote the area
- Continuing work to retain and attract Francophone immigrants, with increased focus on retaining international students
- Efforts to build intercultural awareness—Canadians understanding immigrant culture and immigrants understanding Canadian culture