Dealing with the downside of population growth in N.B. communities of all sizes

Saint Andrews Mayor Brad Henderson knew his hometown was growing, but he was pleasantly surprised to hear that the seaside tourist town led the province in growth among municipalities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people. 

Between 2016 and 2021, the population of Saint Andrews grew by 14.7 per cent — well ahead of the province's overall growth of 3.8 per cent. 

While there are a host of benefits that come with a growing population, Henderson said there are also some challenges — housing foremost among them. 

He said there is no shortage of interest from people wanting to move to the community, but many have had a tough time buying a house or finding a place to rent. 

In fact, the town is so concerned about the situation that council recently set aside $1.8 million in its 2022 budget for housing initiatives, both to increase the amount of rental spaces available and to improve affordable housing options.

Council also approved two housing developments last week and pledged more than $200,000 in financial assistance.

While flattering and financially beneficial to the town's tax base, Henderson said it does cause some growing pains for residents beyond a tight housing market. He said many residents are now paying more in taxes thanks to increased property assessments. 

"We have some of the highest increases in the province because there's more people wanting to move here and pay more for housing," Henderson said. "Obviously, the assessment value went up, so that's been some growing pains for the residentss."

The upside for many local businesses is that more people in town year-round has allowed them to stay open longer in the off-season, or stay open all winter with limited hours. 

Henderson said there aren't any concerns about traditional infrastructure concerns such as drinking water and wastewater. Because so many people visit Saint  Andrews in the summer, the infrastructure is already designed to handle increased numbers. 

One thing Henderson is hoping to see is a younger population. The last report revealed the town's average age had increased by five years since the previous report. 

"So we were an aging population, which is actually a big area of concern on the sustainability of your community because you need a mixture, obviously, of people in your community," said Henderson.

Statistics Canada is set to release the current report on the country's shifting demographics on April 27. 

"I'm hoping that we see that our average age has either gone down or at least been steady, because it has been rapidly increasing over the last couple of census," said Henderson.