N.S. nears milestone as population will soon hit one million

HALIFAX -

Angele MacDonald moved to Halifax from Prince Edward Island in 2017.

She is one of the more than 999,000 people who call Nova Scotia home.

"It's like a big city with a lot of jobs, there's enough economy, but you can still survive whereas, at the same point it's still humble," says MacDonald.

The province is, however, on the cusp of something to brag about as it will soon welcome its millionth Bluenoser.

From Yarmouth's rugged coast to Cape Breton's rolling hills and all points in between, Nova Scotia's beauty and way of life is making it an attractive destination.

"It's a combination of our immigration stream so that's one thing that we are really excited about, the fact that newcomers are coming to Nova Scotia," says Jill Balser, the province's immigration minister. "We also know that people from Nova Scotia are coming back home and that's another really exciting piece about this announcement. We also have international students who are choosing to stay."

Everyone is playing a role in supporting the province's economy.

"Population growth is critical, it's good for our community, it's good for our province and one million is a very, very exciting milestone," says Premier Tim Houston.

Houston says there are also challenges that come with a growing population.

"We have a lot of work to do we have our challenges in health care, and housing. We have to acknowledge those challenges and have plans to deal with them," Houston says.

As for the other Maritime provinces, Prince Edward Island's population is 166,000 and New Brunswick's is a little over 793,000.

When Nova Scotia hits the population milestone, it will be the seventh Canadian province with more than a million residents.

Balser says the government wants to grow the population to two million by 2060.

For now, the focus is on a plan to recognize and celebrate the one-million mark. Houston says information on what that will look like will be released in the next few days.