Newsflash: Garth and Gord and Fiona and Alice are moving back to the Maritimes
The migration to the Maritimes from the rest of Canada is one of the more interesting trends since the onset of COVID-19. The region went from modest inward migration (net) between 2016 and 2019 to very strong net migration since. In Q2 2022, nearly 6,200 more people moved to Nova Scotia from elsewhere in Canada than moved out. Over 4,200 more moved to New Brunswick.
As you will see from the chart below, the story of Maritimer’s Goin’ down the Road - has been somewhat overplayed - at least since the 1970s. There have been periods of net outward migration (more out than in) but if you take every single quarter between 1971 and 2019, the net outward migration of the three Maritimes combined was about 200 people per quarter (or 800 a year). If you add in the subsequent quarterly migration (through Q2 2022), the number is a positive 20. Yes, that means that in an average quarter going all the way back to 1971, more people have moved into the region than moved out (at least based on the summation of the three provinces’ net interprovincial migration figures.
But the migration from the Maritimes story is an important one. It has been the justification used to limit immigration here. It has been used by several PMs to make the case that Canada needs a strong federal government (to prop up weaker regions such as the Maritimes). It has been used to support the seasonal EI system - without which we are told tens of thousands more Maritimers would go down the road.
I have written about the ‘Goin’ down the Road’ story before. Young people should take the time to watch that movie or at least clips on YouTube. As I young child in the 1970s I remember the tar paper shacks and other detritus depicted but I think the movie took a bit of creative license - I do not recall the region being quite as backward.
Another example you can find on YouTube is SCTV’s lampoon of Goin’ Down the Road - with John Candy, et. al. It’s called Garth and Gord and Fiona and Alice and tells the story of uneducated Maritimers headin’ to Toronto for "doctorin' and lawyerin' jobs". It’s kind of fun, and again important for younger Maritimers to watch to get a sense of the time.
As an aside, I’m not sure why Moncton has been such a target (mostly good humoured). Someone told me that Moncton and Canmore were the most lampooned cities by the Royal Canadian Air Farce. I suspect Moncton would be high on the 22 Minutes jokes list too.
There is a lot of debate right now about this inward migration and if it will continue. Someone unexpectedly, it is mostly younger people and not older retirees - maybe a consequence of the rise in remote work.
My view is that there will continue to be inward migration -maybe not at record levels - as people actually like the idea of living in smaller, less congested urban centres offering a good quality of life.
There is a huge caveat. If we can’t offer the services they need - not enough houses, not enough doctors, not enough K-12 seats, not enough pet groomers - that will snuff out inward migration.