I'm posting this here since it's census related.
Stagnant population growth in Nova Scotia should be a wake-up call for everyone in the business community, local developers say.
According to census figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, the province’s population base increased by 0.9 per cent from 2006 to 2011, compared with a 0.6 per cent increase during the previous five-year period.
The number of people in Halifax jumped 4.7 per cent during that time, to 390, 096. However, a 4.7 per cent decline in Cape Breton and 0.2 per cent drop in Lunenburg point to a migration to Halifax and not an increase in the number of people moving to the city from outside the province.
That is cause for concern for some developers, who think the province and Ottawa should put a greater emphasis on immigration.
“Halifax has benefited a lot from rural areas, but that’s not a good thing. I mean, it’s good for Halifax, it’s not good for the province,” Wadih Fares, president of WM Fares Group and Lebanon’s honorary consul in Halifax.
“We have to be, as developers and business people in this city and this province, we have to be concerned that our population is not increasing.
“Sure I’m worried. My business is in accommodation and if it gets to a point where there’s not enough people to rent your units or to buy your units or to buy your homes, definitely it will affect our future if you want to stay and work in Nova Scotia.”
Besim Halef of Banc Properties Ltd. called the census figures a “wake-up call” for the entire community.
“They’re pretty scary numbers,” Halef said. “If the province doesn’t increase immigration levels coming over here, we will be going in declining mode rather than increasing population, so that will affect any future development because we look, 10,15, 20 years down the road.”
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