Halifax Regional Municipality’s new economic growth strategy is gunning for a 100,000-person population increase in the next five years, as the city looks to solve the skilled labour crunch that has left local startups scrambling for employees.

The 73-step economic plan — dubbed People. Planet. Prosperity. Halifax’s Inclusive Economic Strategy 2022-2027 — includes three main strategic targets: increasing GDP to $25 billion; growing the population to 525,000 people and the labour force to 310,000; and increasing residents’ overall wellbeing.

As of January, Halifax’s labour force numbered 241,200, according to Statistics Canada, so Halifax’s growth plan is calling for an increase of just under 70,000 workers in five years.

Startup community observers, including Propel Chief Executive Kathryn Lockhart, outgoing Volta CEO Martha Casey and Halifax Partnership Chief Economist Ian Munro, have told Entrevestor that an important step in addressing Atlantic Canada’s technology labour crunch will be to increase the region’s competitiveness in the international battle for talent.

And with Halifax playing host to 289 of the 738 Atlantic startups Entrevestor identified in 2020, changes to market conditions in the city could have implications for the rest of the ecosystem.