Ready to blow: NB's population bomb
 

FREDERICTON - To build a population bomb, you need equal parts aging population, low fertility rates and sluggish economic prospects. New Brunswick has perfected the recipe, and young people in the province are being shortchanged.

Michael Haan, Canada Research Chair in the departments of sociology and economics at UNB was recruited from the University of Alberta because of his interest in the area of migration, immigration and population issues.

He's delivering his talk Can New Brunswick's Population Time Bomb be Defused? at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre this week. He admits that it's a provocative title, but he wanted to garner attention to the problem of population structure in the province.

New Brunswick has one of the lowest fertility rates and the oldest population in Canada. And, because of the large aging population, youth may be overlooked.

"You're going to see policies at the provincial level that are really geared to people that vote. So the older people are getting what they want and younger people are not," says Haan.

Because of this, youth in the province may outmigrate to younger, more vibrant centres like Halifax, Toronto or Montreal to pursue employment and to settle down.

"Part of the reason that these young cities thrive is that there are things going on that young people are into: concerts, shows. It attracts young people. New Brunswick doesn't have that to the same extent. It has to be kickstarted, what's critical is getting it going."

A recent news article cited a new report from TD Economics that states that a slow economy and low employment growth will likely increase outmigration from the province this year.

But Haan is hopeful. He says that the population bomb in the province can be defused with initiatives targeted towards engaging young people such as interest-free loans to young individuals in rural areas, job initiatives and youth engagement in the labour market. However, most importantly, the generation gap in the province must be bridged.

"Young people need to realize that they're important here, but older people need to realize that young people are important here too. What that might mean is that they may have to let activities occur in their city that they may not necessarily approve of."

Finally, if youth want change then they too must be active.

"Young people have to join the discussion, otherwise they won't identify with the habitat that's created for them."

Laura Lyall may be reached at lyall.laura@herenb.com

© 2011 HERE - Fredericton