Atlantic Canada's Urban Growth Agenda - Greater Halifax Partnership

At the same time, the vast majority of Canada’s
urban areas and indeed regional economies are
suffering from limited growth or even population
decline and the associated challenges that arise
such as a decreasing ability to sustain proper
regional infrastructure and the declining ability to
raise taxes in the regional economy to pay for
public services. In addition, stagnant economies
over time face greater challenges related to labour
market development, industry development,
immigrant attraction, etc.
3.3 Better integration of
immigrants versus attracting immigrants
Figure 3: Regional Population Growth Rates (1996 – 2001)*
14.0%
12.0%
10.0%
8.0%
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
0.2%
All Other
CMAs/CAs
3.0%
Greater Montreal
*Source: Statistics Canada.
7.6% 7.7%
Immigration has been identified by most of the stakeholders as a key element of the national urban agenda. Again,
however, there are significant differences between the large urban centres and Atlantic Canada’s urban centres. In
the large CMAs, the issue relates more to the integration of immigrants. For example, the City of Toronto has
substantially increased its funding of ESL services (English as a Second Language) in the past decade to support its
larger number of immigrants. Other issues related to workforce integration, education and the delivery of community
services drive the immigration agenda in Canada’s largest urban areas.
Greater Vancouver
Golden
Horseshoe
12.2%
Calgary/Edmonton
Corridor
Immigration patterns over the decade have
resulted in an even greater concentration of
immigrants in three the three major cities of
Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal than in previous
decades (Figure 4). 73% of all immigrants coming
to Canada in the 1990s located in Vancouver,
Toronto and Montreal.
By contrast, Atlantic Canadian cities do not have
the same issues related to managing immigration;
rather attraction and retention 6 of immigrants is the
challenge. In the 1990s, the seven Atlantic urban
areas attracted less than 12,500 immigrants (that
were resident in those communities as of the 2001
Census). Figure 5 shows the impact of
immigration in the 1990s on the population of
Canada’s urban areas. 16.9% of the Toronto CMA
population in 2001 were new immigrants or nonpermanent
residents having arrived in Canada
since 1991.
Figure 4: Total Immigrants and non-permanent residents
(% of total population – 2001 Census)
Toronto
Vancouver
Calgary
Montreal
Canada
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Halifax
Fredericton
Saint John
Charlottetown
St. John's
Moncton
Cape Breton
4.1%
4.0%
3.1%
3.1%
1.7%
7.3%
5.9%
19.2%
18.8%
18.2%
16.8%
21.5%
*Source: Statistics Canada. 2001 Census..
38.6%
44.7%
6 There is a difference between the attraction of immigrants and keeping them in the community. A recent study by the
Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association in Halifax found that some 62% of immigrants to that community eventually move
to settle elsewhere in Canada.
…Atlantic Canadian Context 15