Politicians can't 'stem the flow' of outmigration, says expert

A professor who studies outmigration says New Brunswick politicians need to stop trying to attract people back to the province.

Greg Marquis, who teaches history at the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus, says people have been leaving the province for more than 160 years.

"This idea of bringing people back is an old idea," said Marquis.

"It's usually been used in election campaigns. It's never really worked and … some people come back I guess when they retire, but most people go on to build their lives in other parts of Canada, North America.

"So, you know, it's a bit naive or cynical for politicians to use those kinds of messages."

New Brunswick's population shrank again during the second quarter, with many people moving to Alberta, the latest Statistics Canada figures show.

There were 753,914 people in New Brunswick, as of July 1, down from 754,176 on April 1.

The population has dropped by 2,902 over the past two years, 9,173 in the past three years.

Outmigration, and how to bring people back to New Brunswick, were prominent issues during the provincial election campaign.

Marquis says New Brunswick has always lost people. "It's a free country. People are free to move," he said.

And "when there's boom in other parts of Canada, you're not going to stem the flow."

"So I think we need to get beyond this idea of bringing people back," he said. "We have to work together here."