Here we grow: Saint John’s population on the rise

It’s official – more people are now calling Saint John home. According to data released by Statistics Canada in January, the population has grown by 2.4% percent, or 1,759 residents bringing the City’s population to 73,611 as of July 2022.

This increase marks the fastest growth the City has experienced in decades, and already exceeds Common Council’s goal of 2% annual population growth set out in the 10-year Strategic Plan. Overall, the Greater Saint John region welcomed 2,861 people to the area, bringing the total regional population to 135,622 as of 2022.

“We are so excited to continue to welcome more people to Saint John, and so pleased to be growing our population - again,” says Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon. “These numbers validate to us that all of the hard work and effort that has gone into attracting and retaining residents over the past few years is paying off.”

The City released its Population Growth Framework in early 2018, which was Saint John’s first strategy focused on growing its population. 

Recently, Council adopted the Succeed and Stay Immigration Strategy which aims to attract 12,000 newcomers to the City over the next 10 years in addition to the regional goal set by Envision Saint John, in which they aim to grow the population by an additional 25,000 by 2023. It promotes the Saint John region as the destination of choice for newcomers and their families in New Brunswick.

The region welcomed 1,208 new immigrants and 586 non-permanent residents since 2021.

With its historic uptown, abundance of green spaces, ocean views and development opportunities, these numbers show that more people are recognizing what makes Saint John such a special place to live, work and play.