Declining population growth is not a new trend in this province. In fact, from 1951 to 2001, this province saw significant slowdowns in population growth, and even population decline in the 1990s during the early days of the Cod Moratorium, which saw much of the province’s young workforce leave to look for work in places like Alberta and Ontario.

Pair this mass exodus of young workers with the duel phenomena of aging post-War baby boomers and declining birthrates—two things that plague most Western countries—and the population pyramid of the province has become inverted.

But now, 22 years after the Moratorium, the economic tides of the province have turned, and Newfoundland & Labrador is experiencing a period of unprecedented economic prosperity, and for the first time in over 60 years, population growth.

This growth, however, is small (just 1.8 per cent from 2006-2011), and is certainly not consistent across the province. In rural Newfoundland & Labrador, the story of population decline remains much the same, with some regions’ populations shrinking by 15 per cent from 2006 to 2011, while the population of the Northeast Avalon—St. John’s and surrounding areas—grew by more than 10 per cent over the same time. This shift is creating a very different province than the one founded upon the vitality of remote fishing villages and a rural way of life. Currently, approximately 80 per cent of the population of the province lives within an hour of the Trans-Canada Highway.

“The challenge now is managing economic growth, supporting innovation, and diversification so the growth of the province can be sustained over time and no one gets left behind.”

This increased urbanization brings with it two sets of additional challenges. For urban areas like the Northeast Avalon, and other areas benefiting from the economic boom, there is more crime, more traffic, less affordable housing, and so on. For rural parts of the province that do not have access to the benefits of the drivers of our newfound prosperity— offshore oil, mining, and energy mega-projects—it is a struggle to attract the industry and employment needed to keep young families from leaving, and to provide access to services to an aging population.

The challenge now is managing economic growth, supporting innovation, and diversification so the growth of the province can be sustained over time and no one gets left behind. If there is one thing we can learn from our history, it is that dependence upon one or few industries is a recipe for uncertainty. As a large proportion of the people and wealth of the province gravitate towards urban centres, it would be very easy for the rural way of life to be left behind, but with regional collaboration and innovation, this does not have to be the case. The challenge for rural communities across the province now is to look to their neighbours, build upon their collective strengths, and work together to build strong, economically diverse regions—it’s not about getting bigger, it’s about getting together.