Maritime industries, governments concerned with immigration cuts

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will only be able to welcome half as many newcomers next year.

Immigration helped drive-up population growth in the Maritimes in 2024, but this year Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island will only be able to welcome half as many newcomers due to Ottawa’s immigration cut.

The reduction in immigration numbers is intended to ease pressure on housing but provinces are worried about what it could mean for workforce needs.

The Construction Association of Nova Scotia says it’s already dealing with a severe shortage in skilled trade workers and adjustments to immigration numbers could only exacerbate the issue and slow down housing development.

“We were shocked to see those announcements coming at this juncture, when we are trying to fill so many job vacancies at this time in Nova Scotia,” said Duncan Williams, president and CEO of the Construction Association.

The federal government cut the number of immigrants allowed to enter Nova Scotia in half from last year’s total.

Williams says the industry relies heavily on immigration to fill labour gaps.

“We have people retiring, we’re an aging as a population and so we need young people coming in and we’re not seeing them come in as fast as we’d like,” said Williams.

The federal government capped the number of immigrants allowed to enter Nova Scotia to 3,150 this year, which is down from 6,300 last year.

It’s a 50 per cent reduction in P.E.I. and New Brunswick as well.

P.E.I. confirmed its total dropped to 1,025 for 2025. New Brunswick’s immigration numbers will be capped at 2,750 this year, which is down from 5,500 last year.

New Brunswick’s Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jean-Claude D’Amours said the federal government’s announcement jeopardizes hiring in key sectors like health care, skilled trades and education.

“It further limits our province’s needs to achieve economic growth for our province and our businesses,” said D’Amours. “We are reviewing the impact of this news and we intend to bring our concerns to the minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.”

The construction industry believes there’s a misconception around immigration and that newcomers are taking jobs and housing away.

Williams says targeted immigration is essential to developing more housing.

“If you bring in the people who can build, the housing it will ease the pressure,” said Williams.

Nova Scotia approved 229 immigration applications for construction workers in 2023 and another 516 applications last year.

As for health-care workers, the province says 1,129 immigrants were approved in 2023 and another 1,510 application were approved in 2024.

The federal government hinted at the potential for additional allocations, especially for provinces that collaborate and support the welcoming of more asylum seekers.

However, the Nova Scotia government has already pushed back against Ottawa’s plan to settle more asylum seekers in the province, saying it interfered with their targeted skilled trade and health-care worker immigration plan.