Opportunities happen here!

Innovative, high-tech companies start and grow here. Education and skills, GDP, employment rates and life satisfaction are constantly improving, making Atlantic Canada an attractive place to invest, live and hire.

There are fresh opportunities for the 4 Atlantic provinces and those who live, work and play here. It's time to reframe the Atlantic Canada story, and recognize that the region is a proud, valuable, burgeoning asset to Canada as a whole.

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Acting on Atlantic Canada’s new reality

ACOA is committed to building an ever stronger Atlantic economy, and representing the region’s interests at the national level. From recent economic data, it is clear that Atlantic Canada’s sustained growth in population, investment and productivity provides a new baseline for measuring future growth.

ACOA is working to ensure that decision makers at all levels are aware of this new reality, and that policy questions are considered through this new lens. Decisions made both inside and outside the region must deliberately support Atlantic Canada’s growing momentum, which has been highlighted at high-profile events and conferences such as:

the Digital Innovation Summit, hosted by the University of New Brunswick’s McKenna Institute
the Atlantic Economic Forum at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia
the Frank McKenna Awards in Fredericton

The Atlantic Canada Momentum Index

In March 2023, the Public Policy Forum (PPF) published the Atlantic Canada Momentum Index — a paradigm-shifting report on our region's economic performance and direction.

The PPF, together with the Centre for the Study of Living Standards and a group of advisors from the Atlantic provinces, identified 20 key social and economic indicators to study whether momentum exists in the Atlantic Canada economy, when compared to Canada and the other provinces and territories.

According to the report: "The short answer is yes, it does — definitively. A convincing majority of our indicators provide concrete proof there is indeed something going on. Population? Up. Immigration? Up. GDP per capita? Up. Education, employment rate, productivity, housing starts, life satisfaction? Up."

Atlantic Canada has momentum in 16 of the 20 indicators used by the PPF — compared with just 10 for Canada as a whole.

Key indicators

Don't believe us? Check out these facts, figures and findings about Atlantic Canada's growth and opportunities, taken from a number of sources, including the Atlantic Canada Momentum Index.

Population growth

For the first time in decades, significant population growth is occurring in our region — in fact, outpacing national population growth. Moncton, Halifax and Charlottetown led the country in population growth in 2022, and Moncton was the fastest growing city in all of Canada.

Fredericton, St. John’s and Saint John grew faster than the Canada city average.
All Atlantic cities were growing at above-average rates in 2022 due to increased immigration and strong migration flows from other parts of Canada.
In 2021, 22,000 more Canadians arrived in Atlantic Canada from other provinces than left it.
Population growth of the Maritime provinces surpassed the Prairies for the first time since the 1940s.
As of January 1, 2023, the total population of Atlantic Canada was more than 2.5 million, an increase of 78,113 from January 1, 2022 (+3.1% growth compared to 2.7% for Canada). This is the strongest demographic growth ever recorded in the region, due largely to international immigration to the region.

Immigration

Immigration is booming in Atlantic Canada. In fact, the average number of immigrants in Atlantic Canada from 2008 to 2015 was about 7,000 per year. From 2015 to 2022, that average more than doubled, to about 15,000 immigrants per year.
These people are staying right here in Atlantic Canada. By 2019, the retention rate on immigration jumped to 72%, up from 67% in 2010.
The number of immigrants to the region doubled between 2016 and 2022, and has almost tripled in the last 15 years.
Immigration and positive net migration from other provinces added more than 120,000 to our population in the last 2 years.
The likelihood of reporting a very strong sense of belonging to Canada is higher for immigrants in Atlantic Canada — Statistics Canada.

Quality of life

More and more Atlantic Canadians are achieving higher levels of education.
The University of New Brunswick is home to Canada’s first engineering program and faculty of computer science and is rated No. 1 in Atlantic Canada, Top 10 in Canada, and in the top 20% in the world by the Times Higher Education 2023 World Rankings.
Quality and well-paying jobs are now typical throughout the regional economy. This is proven through the increasing employment rate, now almost equal to the national average.
The average house in New Brunswick costs less than $300,000. Compare that to $1.2 million in Toronto and $1.3 million in Vancouver.
In educational achievements, the proportion of working age people getting a tertiary education is accelerating at a rate above the national average.

Unemployment/labour

For the first 9 months of 2023, unemployment rates in Halifax and Moncton were lower than in Toronto.
The Atlantic region has 53,000 more people in the labour force than before the pandemic.
The unemployment rate is at a 40-year low.
One third of the growth in the labour force since 2019 has been from recently landed immigrants.
Labour demand in the region has increased faster than supply. Employment grew by 65,000 workers. Of those, almost half were filled by women.
Labour productivity increased to 1.8% per year from 2015 to 2021.
The Atlantic region’s employment growth rate of 3.0% year-to-date in September 2023 outpaced Canada’s rate.
Year-to-date for August 2023 showed average weekly wages grew faster in Atlantic Canada than in Canada overall.

Start-ups

Atlantic Canada has one of the best early-stage start-up ecosystems in the world, and the number of start-ups keeps growing, almost doubling from 2016 to 2021.
Nova Scotia start-ups raised $41 million in venture capital in the first quarter of 2023, despite a 72% decline in investments nationally.
In 2022, Nova Scotia attracted $230 million in venture capital investments.
54% of founders are new Canadians, 45% are over the age of 40, and 44% are second time founders.
Startup Genome has ranked Atlantic Canada in the Top 10 globally for ocean ecosystem start-ups; developing the pipeline of new cutting-edge companies.
There are now a record number of over 800 companies in the Atlantic start-up ecosystem, employing over 9,000 people (Entrevestor 2022 data report).
The year 2021 was a record year in Atlantic Canada, with $638.4 million in total funding deals.

High-tech firms

Atlantic Canada has one of the best early-stage start-up ecosystems in the world and our number of start-ups and scale-ups keeps growing.

Atlantic Canada’s globally recognized start-up ecosystem is activating a growing number of new companies that are turning ideas into jobs and money.
Atlantic Canada’s start-up ecosystem launches more than 100 new companies each year, and has been doing that consistently for more than 5 years.
Atlantic Canada’s start-up ecosystem produced Verafin — the crime-fighting unicorn — and there are other billion-dollar companies in the pipeline.
The P.E.I. bioscience sector has quadrupled in size since 2012 to include 65 companies earning over $575 million in revenue, attracting $96 million in new investment, and employing over 2,300 highly skilled workers.

Ocean sector

More than 40% of Canada’s blue economy is anchored in this region and we are home to some of the most leading-edge research facilities in the world.
Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report: Blue Economy Edition, released in 2022, ranked Atlantic Canada among the Top 10 Global Leaders in the Blue Economy.
Our ocean industries account for more than 35% of all ocean-related jobs in Canada.
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is based in Atlantic Canada.
The blue economy is extremely important to Atlantic Canada.
- It accounts for $19.2 billion in GDP and over 126,000 jobs
- It provides 1 in 9 jobs in the region
- It is responsible for about 15% of our economy
Halifax has one of the highest concentration of ocean science PhDs in the world.
Atlantic Canada is home to major industry leaders such as Clearwater, Ocean Choice International and Emera; as well as smaller companies such as SubC Imaging (N.L.), Kognitiv Spark (N.B.), Aspin Kemp (P.E.I.), and GSTS (N.S.).
The Launch, in Holyrood, N.L. — a marine research lab that is part of the Marine Institute — allows students and researchers to test new technologies, train in harsh conditions and explore the next advancements in ocean research.
Planetary Technologies, which has developed an ocean-based carbon removal approach, is the only N.S. company to be featured in Foresight Canada’s honourees for the second annual Foresight 50, which recognizes Canada’s 50 most investable clean-tech ventures

Aerospace and defence

The Atlantic region’s aerospace sector is an economic contributor, with as many as 50 firms that employ approximately 4,000 people.
Construction of a spaceport is under way in Canso, N.S., setting the region up to become home to Canada's first commercial spaceport.

Energy

By 2025, spending could range from $13 billion to $18 billion depending on the pace of hydrogen developments and other renewable energy projects.
With abundant wind, proximity to European markets for export, land for facilities, established ports and a wealth of experienced academics and workers, the region is well positioned to produce green hydrogen for domestic use and to export to foreign markets.

Technology of the future

Battery technology pioneered by world acclaimed scientists right here in Atlantic Canada is powering laptops, cellphones and electronic vehicles around the globe.
Specialized tires for electronic vehicles will be made here, too. Michelin is spending $300 million to expand its manufacturing facilities in Nova Scotia.
Atlantic Canada has produced global XPRIZE winners, including CarbonCure, whose carbon removal technology is reducing the carbon footprint in the construction industry.

Mining sector

Atlantic Canada holds pockets of deposits that are of interest to other countries as they reduce dependency on China.
Newfoundland and Labrador is a mining powerhouse sitting second in iron ore and nickel production and third in copper. The province also has deposits of several critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, antimony, zinc, chromium, platinum, and rare earth elements.
The Fraser Institute recently ranked Newfoundland and Labrador No. 4 internationally on their list of top-tier jurisdictions for mineral exploration, development and investment attractiveness.
In 2021, the mining industry in Newfoundland and Labrador was worth more than $6 billion, supporting more than 7,000 direct jobs.

Exports

The latest data from Statistics Canada suggests that Atlantic Canada is leading the country in increasing the value of exports as it reached $41.9 billion in 2022, which represents an 86.6% increase from 2015 compared to an increase of 54.4% at the national level during the same period.

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