UNB News
News and stories from one of Canada’s top universities

An exciting new speaker series presented by the faculty of arts at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton continues this week with a discussion on how the province’s demographics are changing and how that will affect New Brunswick’s economic growth and self-sufficiency. Michael Haan, the Canada Research Chair in Population and Social Policy and a UNB economics and sociology professor, will give the lecture Can New Brunswick’s Population Bomb be Defused on Wednesday, April 27, at 7 p.m. It will be held in Fredericton at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, 732 Charlotte St. This is the fourth lecture in the Ideas that Matter series. “My lecture focuses on a topic of profound importance to New Brunswick and New Brunswickers in the years ahead,” Dr. Haan said. “My goal is to highlight demography’s importance for the province’s prosperity, and to discuss some of the prospects for change.” The Ideas that Matter speaker series is designed to engage people in topics that are meaningful to New Brunswickers. It features some of UNB’s leading researchers in discussions about issues and challenges that live at the heart of the province’s social values, cultural perceptions and political motivations. All of the Ideas that Matter lectures are free and open to the public thanks to the support of New Brunswick businesses and the UNB Associated Alumni. A complete schedule is available at www.unb.ca/ideas. Patrons for Ideas that Matter include: Atlantic Hydrogen Inc., AutismPro, BioAtlantech, BMO Bank of Montreal, Bulletproof Solutions Inc., C-Therm Technologies, Fabinex Heritage Restoration, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Fredericton International Airport Authority, Goose Lane Editions, Innovatia Inc., King Construction Ltd., Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette, LearnSphere, Mais Reynolds Financial Group, NB Power, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Populus Global Solutions, Remsoft, Stantec, Stewart McKelvey, Sunny Corner Enterprises Inc., The Daily Gleaner, and Valley Graphics. The series presenting sponsor is the UNB Associated Alumni. The speaker series is being held in conjunction with the university’s 225th anniversary celebrations. In addition, UNB is co-hosting the 2011 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences with St. Thomas University from May 28 to June 4. Congress 2011 and the Ideas that Matter series will together shine a spotlight on the social sciences and humanities, highlighting their impact on the world. For more information, contact: Jennifer Gavin Communications officer jgavin@unb.ca 506-453-4990 About Dr. Haan: Michael Haan holds the Canada Research Chair in Population and Social Policy and is a UNB economics and sociology professor. He received his PhD from the University of Toronto and masters from the University of Windsor. Dr. Haan studies why immigrants make the location choices they do, and what impact these choices have on both their well-being and that of the communities they join. This research is critical to understanding the relationship between location choice and socio-economic well-being. It’s also important in preventing over-urbanization in some parts of Canada and population decline in others. Dr. Haan's earlier work focused on housing and immigration, although the focus on inequality and stratification was evident there as well.