A report this week from the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies says the Atlantic region is in the middle of what it calls a “population crunch.”

The think-tank says this region will lose hundreds of thousands of workers over the next several decades as the population grows older ... and younger people leave to find better, or different, lives.

And the province with the worst outlook ... you guessed it ... Newfoundland and Labrador.
The institue predicts this province’s population will drop by 24 per cent by 2046. We are accustomed in this province to having our people move away to better themselves — to find regular employment and give their families a brighter future.

Many of us have been seeking greener pastures for hundreds of years. Just think about all those who headed out for the New England states in earlier days when life here was much more difficult than it is now. Almost all of us have distant relatives in big American cities like Boston and New York.

But if these latest numbers are anywhere near correct, the people who remain in this province are in for a rough time. We are growing older quickly — due mainly to outmigration and a low birth rate.

Some businesses and government service sectors are already finding it difficult to attract workers and when baby boomers finally put down their tools of labour and retire, the problem will grow even worse.

Those of us who remain are looking at a lonely future.