NPI makes recommendations to continue northern population growth
The Northern Policy Institute (NPI) says without the recent population increase driven by immigration and temporary residents, Northern Ontario would be demographically and economically unsustainable.
That’s the finding presented in the institute’s briefing note on population change.
Officials add now is not the time to stop.
The institute is calling on Ottawa and Queen’s Park to make growing permanent immigration and stabilizing temporary resident numbers in Northern Ontario population priorities.
They also want to ensure every region of the north has permanent access to a community driven, local labour market focused immigration program.
According to Charles Cirtwill, report author and NPI President, the situation could have been much worse without recent initiatives like the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot.
“Without the last five years of growth almost every census district in Northern Ontario would have seen population decline, the only exceptions being in the regions within four hours of Toronto,” says Cirtwill.
Among other things, NPI’s briefing suggests the number of temporary residents be quickly returned to pre-2025 numbers in rural and northern areas.
“While the population of Canada and Ontario doubled over the last 50 years, the story in the regions of Northern Ontario is very different,” says Cirtwill. “In the regions closest to Toronto, Northern Ontario grew by almost 60%, just over half the rate for Ontario as a whole.”
He adds in areas in and around Timmins, Sudbury, and Sault Ste Marie, total population was basically unchanged, despite growth in the cities themselves.
Richard Coffinhttps://www.mynorthbaynow.com/Richard Coffin has been a reporter and news anchor on the radio in North Bay for over 25 years. From premiers to people in the neighbourhood, he enjoys connecting with newsmakers and writing stories that matter to area listeners on a variety of topics including healthcare, education, politics, sports and more.
