SAINT JOHN -- The preliminary results are in from the city of Saint John's recent survey of its immigrant population -- the first of its kind.
It's all part of a project to figure out how the municipality can ensure newcomers not only succeed, but also stick around long-term.
The city was reaching to get insights from the recent wave of newcomers that have helped turn the tide of historical population decline.
"We want folks who are going to stick around long-term and put down roots," said David Dobbelsteyn, the city's population growth manager.
The city's growth committee was presented Tuesday with the preliminary results of a survey asking about the services and amenities available to immigrants in the region.
There were over 770 respondents from 98 different countries, with 60 per cent of those having arrived within the last three years.
"That's approximately 2,500 permanent residents, which is fantastic for the region, especially if we can keep them all and we can get them finding jobs, get them fully integrated," Dobbelsteyn said.
The biggest challenge, by far, was identified as finding suitable employment, followed by finding specific ethnic groceries and commodities, and learning English or French.
However, the survey notes that 48 per cent of respondents found a job within three months of arriving in Saint John, and that over 71 per cent of respondents are university graduates.
"A job is a very important aspect for keeping newcomers here, but that's just a start," said Mohammod Bagha of the Saint John Newcomers Centre. "We need services for newcomers so they can fully participate in the daily life in Saint John."
Saint John Coun. David Hickey says "everyone tells us, the best path to growth for our city is through immigration because we need more people here."
The full report on the survey is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2020.
