MONCTON – Riding on momentum from their first immigration strategy implemented in 2014-2018, the municipalities of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe are setting higher targets for the next four years.

The Greater Moncton region aims to attract 1,900 immigrants next year, and 2,700 a year by 2024, up from 1,450 last year. Thirty-three per cent of that will be Francophone immigrants. It also aims to double the international student base, including at private universities and colleges, to 3,000 in four years.

The municipalities announced the targets in a release of its 2020-2024 immigration strategy in front of approximately 150 people at the Avenir Centre on Thursday.

“The four-year strategy reveals a commitment to making the Greater Moncton area one of Canada’s most attractive and inclusive communities for newcomers to settle and flourish,” said Myriam Mekni, the chair of the Greater Moncton Local Immigration Partnership (GMLIP) and executive director of the area’s multicultural association MAGMA.

That is the vision of the 2020-2024 strategy, which also targets a one-year retention rate of 85 per cent, and a five-year retention rate of 75 per cent.

Over the next 10-to-15 years, Greater Moncton is expected to see more than 17,000 workers retire. The number of youth in proportion to older people in the workforce have also declined. In 2001, there were 263 people aged 15-24 for every 100 people aged 55 and above. That’s fallen to 75 in 2018.

The strategy was created after consultations with more than 60 organizations and over 600 people, including business groups, industry associations, ethnocultural groups, settlement organizations and citizens through an online survey.

It’s built around three pillars: attracting talent, ensuring newcomers put down roots, and broadening community collaboration and mobilization.

MLA Bruce Fitch said the target “fits very, very well” with the provincial strategy of attracting 7,500 immigrants a year.

“We’re doing very well in the last five years but again, there’s room to grow and there’s always room for more. So it’s great that we’re all working towards that common goal,” he said.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said the successful implementation of the first strategy was due to a “concerted effort” by not only the three levels of government, but also settlement organizations, business groups, employers, and grassroots community support.