Liberals want pause on plan to double Nova Scotia's population

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says the premier's plan to double Nova Scotia's population is proving too successful, and it's time to hit the brakes.

Churchill told reporters Friday at Province House that Tim Houston's goal of hitting two million people by 2060 is putting excessive strain on the housing market as well as the education and health-care systems.

"Why he's sticking to that plan, we don't know," said Churchill.

"We can grow, but we have to grow at a sustainable rate where people who move here can find a place to live, where people can find doctors and can get into hospitals to get medical care when they need it [and] when they can put their kids in schools that aren't overcrowded."

Accepting the challenges of growth

The province is facing record lows in vacancy rates, climbing rents and a shortage of affordable housing. At last check, more than 160,000 people were registered on the province's Need A Family Practice Registry. 

Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives still have not revealed the locations of four new schools promised last year for the Halifax Regional Municipality. The NDP has said it's clear four schools won't be enough to meet the demands of a growing population.

Houston told reporters Friday that it's people that drive economies. Nova Scotia has seen the challenges of decline through the years and how that can lead to shrinking communities, closed schools and shuttered businesses, he said.

"So now we have the challenges of growth. We accept those challenges," said Houston.

The premier said the province's immigration strategy is focused on health-care workers and tradespeople — areas that are required to help the province address its current challenges.

Falling short of people's needs

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the provincial government has benefited financially from the booming population, but its spending so far does not reflect enough of an effort to combat the challenges created by the growth.

The province is "clearly straining to accommodate all of our citizens in the ways that government needs to provide for people," she told reporters Friday.

"People don't have homes they can afford, they can't access the health care they need, they aren't attached to primary care — those are just facts."