Stats released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) showed 6,000 new permanent residents settled down in New Brunswick in 2019, which was a 30 percent increase from 4,610 in 2018.

Alex LeBlanc, executive director of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council, said “In 2017, fewer than 15 per cent of immigrants settled outside of Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, and in 2019, almost 25 per cent, so this is a really positive trend for the small, medium-sized cities.

Moncton and Fredericton lead the province in total immigration numbers and received 1,915 and 1,570 permanent residents each. This represented a 33 percent increase from the previous year for Moncton and 6.8 percent for Fredericton.

Saint John came in third with 1,035 permanent residents, representing a 24 percent increase from 2018.

A major portion of the newcomers, i.e., 5,060, were economic immigrants through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP). AIPP saw an increase of 175 percent since 2018.

The rest were government assisted refugees (420), privately-sponsored refugees (70), and family members sponsored by immigrants who were already in Canada (425).

For more information on PNP and AIPP call/email JM Immigration +1 416 904 3815 / info@onecanadavisa.com, or visit www.onecanadavisa.com.