Push for housing action following more record-breaking population growth in Moncton and Halifax

The chambers of commerce in Moncton, N.B., and Halifax say housing development needs to pick up to meet record-breaking population growth.

According to new numbers from Statistics Canada, Metro Moncton’s population as of July 1, 2023, was up six per cent to 178,971 (an increase of 10,351 people from 2022).

Metro Halifax saw a 3.9 per cent increase to its population, adding19,780 people year-to-year. Metro Halifax’s population on July 1, 2023, was 518,711.

Statistics Canada says Metro Moncton experienced the fastest annual population growth of any metropolitan area in the country since at least 2001, tying Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo, Ont.

Moncton and Halifax have previously led the country for being amongst the fastest growing urban areas.

In Metro Halifax, the municipality has a goal of doubling its population by 2050.

“I think we need to do some of the things we’re already doing,” says Halifax Chamber of Commerce CEO Patrick Sullivan. “We saw in the first three months of this year building permits were up 50 per cent in Halifax. We need to keep doing that, we’re clearly behind on housing.”

The chambers of commerce in Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John sent a joint letter to New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs earlier this month, asking for the provincial portion of HST to be eliminated on new building construction, such as what's happening in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Nadine Fullarton, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton, says provincial support for “wrap around infrastructure” also needs to become a priority.

“Everything from health institutions, education facilities, daycares, homes, those things need to happen in tandem so we can retain these individuals and so they remain here over the long term,” says Fullarton.

Maritime census metropolitan areas: July 1, 2022-2023

• Halifax: 518,711 (+19,780)
• Moncton: 178,971 (+10,351)
• Saint John: 138,985 (+3,420)
• Fredericton: 119,059 (+4,543)

Maritime census agglomerations: July 1, 2022-2023

• Charlottetown: 90,648 (+4,160)
• Summerside: 19,795 (+495)
• Kentville: 28,842 (+554)
• Truro: 49,597 (+781)
• New Glasgow: 36,208 (+444)
• Cape Breton: 109,962 (6,867)
• Bathurst: 32,821 (+620)
• Miramichi: 29,411 (+767)
• Edmundston: 23,113 (+449)
• Campbellton: 12,179 (+53)

Source: Statistics Canada