All four Atlantic provinces to enjoy red-hot growth, think tank forecasts

P.E.I. predicted to lead country thanks to boom in residential construction

An Ottawa-based think tank is predicting rising growth for all four Atlantic provinces — especially tiny P.E.I., which is expected to lead the country with 3.2 per cent growth this year.

The Conference Board of Canada attributes the rosy outlook to service-sector stability and rising exports in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, while Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to record an uptick in oil production. P.E.I.’S red-hot growth is credited to a boom in residential construction following an “influx of international migrants” and higher demand for Island products.

“Over the next two years, the Island should outpace nearly every other province in the country when it comes to its rate of population growth. Consequently, the construction industry is set to surge this year, thanks to new housing developments on the Island,” the Conference Board said in its latest provincial outlook released Wednesday.

Newfoundland is predicted to grow by 2.7 per cent this year, but the Conference Board says oil industry volatility will mean growth of only one per cent in the province in 2020. It said Nova Scotia is on the road to a stronger economy, with hot seafood exports and improved demographics after an influx of people from across Canada and internationally.

The Conference Board predicts 1.6-per-cent growth this year and another 2.1 per cent in 2020, up from 0.9 per cent last year.

New Brunswick, which reported anemic growth of 0.2 per cent last year, is predicted to see growth of 1.4 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent next year. “The biggest challenge to economic growth is the province’s weak demographic profile,” the report says of New Brunswick.

Nationally, the group predicts 1.9-per-cent growth this year, and 2.1 per cent in 2020. It projects weaker growth in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba, but robust growth in Saskatchewan and B.C.