Nova Scotia's population growing faster than it has in decades

Nova Scotiais growing faster than it has in years, thanks to an increase in the number of people arriving from inside and outside the country.

But the province'spopulationlikely won't hit the 1-million mark any time soon.

The population reached an all-time high of957,600 onOct. 1,according to the latest quarterly data releasedby Statistics Canada and analyzed by the province. That'sjust over 5,200 more people compared to the same time last year.

It's more good news for a province that hasalready experienceda turnaround after welcomingmoreimmigrants, specifically Syrian refugees.

Still, a policy analyst with the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council said thedata offersa snapshot that will change over time.

"It's obvious that it's showing a higher rate, but will that rate be sustained? I guess that's the big question mark," said Fred Bergman.

Fastest growth since 1980s

Bergman pointed to three main factors driving growth immigration, inter-provincial migrationand more non-permanent residents,such as international students attending university this quarter.

There werealso more births than deaths inthe lastfew months something that's become a rarity in a province where deaths typically outpace births, he said.

An influx of 3,700 people between July and October also made it thefastest growthsince the mid-1980s.

For people likeThomas Storring,director of economics and statistics for theprovincial Finance Department, that's good news.

"Some provinces take that for granted. Their populations grow every quarter. That's not the case in Nova Scotia," said Storring.

Canadians moving east

Due to the downturn in the oil and energy industries in Alberta and Saskatchewan,Nova Scotia has recently seen more Canadians move here and that continued this quarter.

Nova Scotia's net migration the total increase in new arrivalsonce the number of people who left are accounted for was 827 between July and October. Those arrivals were from every province in Canada except Prince Edward Island.

That means for the first time since 2003, more people moved to Nova Scotia in the third quarter than left.

"That's not a very common phenomenon here," said Storring.

However, Nova Scotia continues to fall behind whencompared withother provinces. It grew by0.39per cent this quarter, slightly lessthan thenational average of just under halfa per cent.

But Storring said,"We're narrowing the gap in that pace of growth. That is different."

Peak population?

Storringexpects a continued uptick in population in the next couple years, butdoesn'tpredict that Nova Scotia will reach one million in the next decade.

In fact, population trends produced by the Nova Scotia government estimatethat by 2025, about 961,650 people will live here. As baby boomers die, that number will begin to drop, said Storring.

Population growth is a fickle thing, said Bergman.

"Given that energy prices tend to be volatile, there is a good chance they'll go up again, and some of those gains that we've had over the last couple of years will unfortunately disappear," he said.