The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has welcomed more immigrants to its borders in a single year than it ever has before.
Figures released yesterday show that 3,418 newcomers have made the province their home in the first six months of 2016. The previous record for immigrant intake in Nova Scotia, for a full year, was 3,403, set in 2015.
Roughly 1,000 of the province’s new arrivals this year are Syrian refugees, and Lena Diab, the Immigration Minister for Nova Scotia has said she is delighted by the welcome these, and other newcomers are receiving.
“They [Nova Scotians] are welcoming people like they never welcomed them before,” the Minister explained. “The support that we have received across this land [for settling refugees] and across this province from one region to the next has been overwhelming. I don’t believe anybody would have expected that kind of support.
“People are embracing diversity. People are loving the fact that we’re all different.”
Diab is hopeful that the more positive attitude Nova Scotians seem to be displaying towards newcomers will lead to more immigrants choosing to stay in Nova Scotia for a longer period.
Traditionally fewer than one-third of newcomers have chosen to remain in the province for longer than six months. However, the most recent figures suggest Nova Scotia is now retaining close to three-quarters of the people who immigrate to the province.
Article published 16th September 2016