Immigrant retention in New Brunswick
Author: NB-IRDT
Posted on Oct 1, 2020
Category: Population Research
It is no secret that New Brunswick has been facing the problem of an aging, shrinking population for some time now. However, this is a problem with a solution, and the Government of New Brunswick has identified immigration as a key strategy.
Through investment in programs like the Provincial Nominee Program, New Brunswick has attracted a growing number of immigrants – but for immigration to effectively boost the population, focus must be placed on immigrant retention.
In a 2019 report, our researchers used administrative data to estimate how many immigrants land in New Brunswick through the Provincial Nominee Program, and how many stay. At the time, however, 17% of applicants were “unmatched” – meaning they were missing from NB data. This could mean one of two things:
- They took up residence elsewhere in Canada, instead of NB
or
- They landed in NB but are missing from the data because of technical errors
To determine whether the unmatched applicants arrived (and stayed) in NB, our research team expanded their analysis beyond primary applicants to consider their households. The recently released findings show that 11% of unmatched applicants did, in fact, take up residence in NB; but it is likely the rest never arrived.
