Newfoundland and Labrador has the most rapidly aging population in the country – combined with youth out-migration, declining birth rates, and an increasing number of people moving from rural parts of the province to more urban centres, the province is facing an unprecedented population challenge. Without intervention, this trend will have a drastic impact on the economy, governance, and overall quality of life for the people living in the province. Planning for this change and developing strategies to adjust and adapt to the change is paramount.

The Harris Centre’s Population Project will use expertise from both inside and outside the university to explore the implications of the demographic changes projected for the next 20 years. The research reports generated and public discussion of them are intended to help inform and contribute to government policy as well as to strategies that private and non-profit sectors will need to develop to respond to the broad range of issues related to health, governance, transportation, housing, etc., resulting from the population shift.

The Labrador portion of the Population Project has been generously supported by the International Grenfell Association. 

Completed Research

• Attracting and Retaining Professionals in Labrador, Delores V. Mullings, Paul Banahene Adjei, Lesley A. Derraugh, and Leo Taho.
• Municipal-Level Service Delivery in Labrador, Tony Fang, Kerri Neil, Halina Sapeha, Petr Kocourek, Troy Osmond, and Yanfen Ally Li.
• Read the report, Alvin Simms and Jamie Ward, RAnLab, Memorial University
• The Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Employers in Labrador, Tony Fang, Halina Sapeha, Kerri Neil, Gabriel Williams, Opeyemi Januty-Aidamenbor and Troy Osmond 
• Regional Population Projections for Labrador and the Northern Peninsula 2016-20, Alvin Simms and Jamie Ward, RAnLab, Memorial University *Please note, a correction has been made to Figure 1.0 on pages 5 and 12. The currently posted version reflects these corrections.
• Predicting Health Human Resource Needs for an Evolving Population in the Labrad, Alvin Simms, Jamie Ward, Kris Aubrey-Bassler and Olivia Cleary 
• Housing Demand and Supply in Central Labrador, Stephen Jewczyk
• Demographic Change and Regionalization of Public Services, Pat Curran
• Succession Planning for Small and Medium-sized Business in Labrador and the Nor, Dave Lough

Contact the Population Project:

For more information on the Population Project contact:

Keith Storey PhD
Director, Population Project

Harris Centre
220 Prince Philip Drive
Memorial University of Newfoundland

kstorey@mun.ca