Saint John Adds 2,300 Residents Since Last Census

New census numbers are validating Saint John’s population growth efforts in recent years, according to the city’s mayor.

Numbers released Wednesday by Statistics Canada show the city added 2,320 residents between 2016 and 2021.

That pushed the city’s total population to 69,895 people, an increase of 3.4 per cent over five years.

In an interview on Thursday, Mayor Donna Reardon said she was very happy to see the numbers that came out.

“In 2018, we came up with our Population Growth Framework and it was the first strategy that had been developed for population growth, so since 2018, we’ve been driving population growth here in Saint John,” said Reardon.

The increase nearly offsets the population losses recorded in the last census. Between 2011 and 2016, the population of Saint John fell to 67,575 from 70,063 people.

Meanwhile, the city’s uptown core grew by nearly nine per cent since the last census in 2016. An additional 669 people are now living there, pushing the population to 8,221 in 2021.

Reardon said the population increase in the uptown is not surprising given what is happening in other cities across Canada.

“There’s this move to more urbanism and so you’re seeing that trend now getting in the City of Saint John,” she said.

The city’s Central Peninsula Neighbourhood Plan, released in early 2020, calls for a minimum increase of 2,400 people living uptown by 2049.

Reardon said based on the results of the most recent census, she believes the city is on track to do just that.

She said population density is the “secret to success” for municipalities, especially for ones the size of Saint John.

“On average, we are about 3,700 people per square kilometre [in the uptown] versus the rest of the city which is, on average, 37 people per square kilometre,” said Reardon. “You can certainly provide your services far cheaper when you have density.”

Overall, the Saint John CMA saw a 3.5 per cent increase in population as 4,411 people moved to the area, increasing the regional population to 130,613.

The CMA includes Saint John, Quispamsis, Rothesay, Grand Bay-Westfield, Hampton, St. Martins, and a dozen parishes. Every single area reported an increase in its population.

St. Martins saw its population grow by nearly 16 per cent — the biggest increase in the CMA — to 320 people.

The populations of Quispamsis and Rothesay jumped by 2.9 and 2.7 per cent, respectively. Quispamsis grew to 18,768 residents, an increase of 523 people, while Rothesay added 318 residents for a new population of 11,977.

Grand Bay-Westfield recorded the smallest population increase. It added just three residents since the last census for a new population of 4,967 people.

New Brunswick’s population grew by more than 28,500 people to 775,610, an increase of 3.8 per cent. The province saw its population drop by 0.5 per cent during the last census between 2011 and 2016.