New Brunswick sees population drop by almost 1,000

New Brunswick's population dropped by almost 1,000 people between July 2012 and July 2013, according to information released by Statistics Canada on Thursday.

The new figures put the province's population at 756,050. That is a 0.1 per cent drop from the July 2012 population estimate of 756,997.

New Brunswick is one of only four jurisdictions to register a decline in population.

Nova Scotia saw the biggest drop in population, with a 0.5 per cent decrease. Nova Scotia's population is 940,789, which is 4,272 fewer people than in July 2013.

The Northwest Territories was the other jurisdiction to see its population shrink by a higher percentage than New Brunswick. Although the Northwest Territories had only 83 fewer people, that represents a loss of 0.2 per cent of its population base.

Prince Edward Island grew by 72 people,while Newfoundland and Labrador lost 139. Neither change was big enough to register as a percentage increase or decrease.

In the Atlantic provinces, low growth was mainly explained by a low natural increase and interprovincial migration losses, which reached a six-year high.- Statistics Canada

The populations of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador were statistically unchanged from a year ago

"In the Atlantic provinces, low growth was mainly explained by a low natural increase and interprovincial migration losses, which reached a six-year high," stated the Statistics Canada report.

Alberta saw its population grow by more than 200,000 people to surpass the 4 million threshold, a population surge of 3.4 per cent.

"Record levels of international migration and interprovincial migration to the province explain this growth in Alberta," stated Statistics Canada.

The report also shows that over the last 30 years, New Brunswick has gone from representing 2.8 per centof the national population in 1983 to 2.2 per cent in 2013.

"Provincial differences in the intensity of the population growth in the past 30 years can be attributed to several factors," states the report. "For example, interprovincial migration was generally more favourable to the Western provinces and less favourable to the Atlantic provinces."