Immigration strong on P.E.I., but province still bleeding young people

In 2016, P.E.I. came close to reversing its aging population trend, but it still has a big problem with young people leaving the province.

Premier Wade MacLauchlan has made what he calls rejuvenation an essential aspect of his vision for the province, and central to that is reducing the speed which the population is aging.

MacLauchlan saw some success in that last year.

According to numbers from Statistics Canada, the number of people on the Island aged 45 and older continues to grow at an increasing rate, but the number of those under 45 has stopped declining, and actually started to increase.

P.E.I. is the only Atlantic province that has more people under the age of 45 in 2016 than it did in 2014.

Young people immigrating to P.E.I.

The province showed particular strength in attracting immigrants in their 30s and children under 15, suggesting young families from around the world are moving to the Island.

Annual immigration in those age categories from 2015-16 was up 77 per cent over the previous three years

But while immigration is strong an age-old problem remains: young people are still moving away.

The year ending July 1 was the worst in the last five years by a long stretch for people in their 20s leaving the Island for other provinces. P.E.I. had a net loss of more than 1,000 20-somethings, with the worst year in the previous four being less than 700.

A recent survey of 16 to 30-year-olds in Charlottetown suggests this loss of young people is not a problem that will go away soon.

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Half of the respondents to the survey said they were looking for work outside of P.E.I.

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