NEWFOUNDLAND SUFFERS EFFECTS OF UNDERPOPULATION

Canada Reaps Rewards Of Culture Of Death   ST. JOHN’S, Nfld., Sept 30 (LSN) – The Canadian Press reported yesterday that the recent population report indicating Newfoundland’s fifth consecutive year of population decline has begun to awaken the concern of provincial leaders in the province. The province, which has lost over six per cent of its population since 1993, is facing a possible cut in federal transfer and equalization payments since they are tied to population. While Newfoundland’s Finance Minister Paul Dicks says the population reduction could cost the province $60 million, Opposition Leader Ed Byrne said the figure could be as high as $200 million.  The entire Atlantic Region is suffering from the same depopulation problem, according to a report released recently by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, an economic think-tank based in Nova Scotia.  The demographic report, “Population Change in Atlantic Canada: Looking at the Past, Thinking About the Future,” revealed that in 1951 40.4% (in Nova Scotia) to 47.1% (in Newfoundland) of the population were under 20 years of age. Today Prince Edward Island has the highest percentage of under 20’s in Atlantic Canada at 28.6% of the population. Meanwhile the percentage of the population above 65 has gone from a high of 9.8% in Nova Scotia in 1951 to a low of 10.6% in Newfoundland and high of 13% in PEI.  Furthermore, there has been a massive shift in the population balance with the rest of the country. While the overall population of Atlantic Canada has grown from 1.6 million to 2.4 million since 1951, the region now houses only 8.0% of Canada’s total population compared with 11.5% in 1951.