The population will decline most in the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador over the next two decades, according to the research organization The Conference Board of Canada. It predicts the population of 482,000 will drop by 45,000 by 2035.
The Canadian population as a whole is growing, according to government statistics, due to about 130,000 more births per year than deaths. However in Newfoundland and Labrador there are 286 more deaths than births.
Added to that is the fact that many people left the province after the cod fishery collapsed in 1992, putting tens of thousands of people out of work. Production of offshore oil in 1997 created many jobs and a newfound prosperity, but that production is expected to wane. Many easterners continue to move to the oil-rich, western province of Alberta where jobs are plentiful.
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