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Student spotlight: Immigrant mobility in New Brunswick

Author: NB-IRDT Staff

Posted on Nov 27, 2020

Category: DataNB

In New Brunswick, immigration has been identified as a key solution to the province’s slow growing and aging population. However, for the programs and resources spent on attracting individuals to NB to be effective, it is important that the immigrants who arrive in the province stay and contribute to the local economy.

A recent NB-IRDT report suggests 50% of Provincial Nominee Program immigrants remain in NB five years after arriving – but how do we know which immigrants are most likely to leave and which are most likely to stay?

This summer, Pathways to Professions student Madeleine Gorman-Asal examined immigrant retention rates in NB according to immigrant admission category, pre-admission experience, and sex. As part of the PopNB initiative to characterize the province’s population, she looked at one-year, three-year, and five-year retention rates for these groups with the intent of informing public policies attempting to attract and retain immigrants in NB.

Full report

Meet the Researcher

Madeleine Gorman-Asal lives in her hometown of Fredericton and is enrolled in the Biology-Mathematics/Statistics program at UNB. She is interested in using data analysis to inform public policy and affect positive community change, and she credits Pathways to Professions with providing her the opportunity to gain an understanding of research from industry and government perspectives.

Interested in becoming involved with Pathways to Professions? Email nb-irdttraining@unb.ca to learn how.

Infographic

From May to August 2020, NB-IRDT hosted the very first Pathways to Professions: an experiential learning program that provided six UNB students with hands-on workplace experience and training in research methods and job readiness. Each month, our Student Spotlight series will highlight some of the students’ research findings on the population demographics and economic progress of New Brunswick.