Population Turnaround A Team Effort, Says Growth Manager

Positive news on Saint John’s population is music to the ears of the city’s growth committee.

The city saw 3.4 per cent growth in the 2021 census, an increase of 2,320 people.

In 2016, Saint John held the dubious distinction of being the only census metropolitan area in Canada to shrink.

During the committee’s virtual meeting on Tuesday, Growth Manager David Dobbelsteyn said it took a big effort by many to turn this around.

“No one agency, no one level of government, no one organization can claim all the credit. That’s why it’s complex. That’s also why it requires a lot of people moving in the same direction,” Dobbelsteyn said.

Dobbelsteyn said early trends indicate that about 85 per cent of population growth is “likely” attributed to immigration.

He said the city will learn more as additional data from the 2021 census is released.

Dobbelsteyn said efforts to focus on the core are paying off as the uptown area is the fastest growing area of the city.

“Obviously, one of the pressures with that is the cost of rents go up and the cost of housing becomes more difficult which is again why we need to work with the development community to bring more units online. That’s sorta the recipe to address that,” Dobbelsteyn said.

Dobbelsteyn said Saint John is sitting in the middle of the pack in terms of growth compared to other census metropolitan areas in Canada.

Councillor Brent Harris called the growth exciting and described Saint John as a “prized pony” for growth, but wondered how the city should interact with the province.

He said Saint John has obstacles they would like removed.

“Little things that we run into either problems on the Reversing Falls Bridge in getting crosswalks or getting a chainlink fence repaired by DTI that don’t add to the overall attractiveness of a neighbourhood,” Harris said.

City Manager John Collin said because council listed growth as a priority and a focus, it factors into every conversation.

“We always do it through the growth lens and with the growth argument in addition to the other arguments that may manifest themselves. It is an effort across the organization,” Collin said.

Collin added regional growth is also a major goal for Envision Saint John.