The mayor of Edmundston, New Brunswick promises students job opportunities and cheap real estate.
Photo: P199 / CC BY-SA 3.0
The past two weeks have been eventful in Quebec: provincial authorities have imposed restrictions on immigration programs for temporary foreign workers and international students. These innovations caused a wave of protests, and the Quebec Minister of Immigration temporarily suspended the changes to finalize the reform of the program.
While the Quebec authorities are pondering how to impose restrictions on immigrants without causing social unrest, the mayor of the small town of Edmundston in New Brunswick appealed to students in a neighbouring province.
“I would like to remind the international students of Quebec who find themselves at an impasse that they can look east, especially to New Brunswick and here in Edmundston for opportunities. There’s room here for you,” wrote Edmundston Mayor Cyrille Simard on Twitter.
According to Simard, New Brunswick needs immigrants. Labour shortages pose a threat to the economy of this region and the Atlantic provinces as a whole.
In an interview for MTL Blog, the mayor said he did not think New Brunswick was more welcoming than Quebec. However, in his opinion, “signals from the government” may cause an alienating effect on immigrants in Quebec. He also noted that Quebec Bill 21, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols at work, can deter foreigners.
According to Simard, now is the time for young people to “look around” and think about the quality of life and job prospects.
Despite its small size (the population of the town is about 17 thousand people), Edmundston is a regional centre and needs a large number of various workers from health professionals to engineers.
As the mayor noted, immigrants can count on a decent salary. At the same time, the low cost of living may seem especially attractive to young people from Montreal. For instance, single-family homes in Edmundston can be bought at prices ranging from C$65 thousand to C$175 thousand.
In addition, Edmundston, like Montreal, is a bilingual city: 90% of its inhabitants speak French, and 70% speak both French and English. Services and education are also offered in both languages.