The New Brunswick government says it will increase immigration, promote multiculturalism and become more family-friendly in an effort to increase its population by 100,000 by 2026.

Greg Byrne, minister responsible for the population growth secretariat, released the government's population growth strategy, Be Our Future, in Moncton on Tuesday.

It contains 43 strategies the government will use to meet its goal of becoming self-sufficient by 2026 by growing its population and labour force.

"With this strategy we intend to meet the challenges of population decline," Byrne said.

The province wants to increase its population by 6,000 by 2009 and by 25,000 by 2015 on the way to meeting its ultimate growth goal.

The government will focus on bringing immigrants to the province who possess skill sets needed in the economy or who are entrepreneurs, Byrne said.

There will also be more government support of multicultural associations to help newcomers participate more quickly in New Brunswick's economy and society, the minister said, and efforts to promote more francophones to move to the province.

A strong economy is needed to provide jobs that promote population growth, the report said, and employers must provide competitive wages and benefits.

"A strong economy will encourage a new spirit of entrepreneurship and offers more chances for residents to be successful. This is what will convince our youth to stay here and what will attract expatriates, other Canadians and immigrants to the province," it said.

Focus on encouraging youth to return

Young people will also be encouraged to stay in the province, while those who've left will be lured back with incentives, according to the strategy.

"Too many of our bright, skilled young people are leaving or have left for other provinces," Byrne said. "This is the generation that has the greatest potential to stimulate future prosperity, raise young families and be leaders in bringing our province to self-sufficiency."

New mentorship and apprenticeship programs will be developed to integrate more students into the provincial workforce and new measures will be introduced to help address student debt load.

The government will also be working with employers to create repatriation measures.

The minister also said an important part of the strategy is its emphasis on family-friendly policies, including increasing the number of child care spaces and providing greater financial assistance to daycares.

That's meant to encourage childbearing while ensuring that child rearing is not detrimental to a family's economic health, Byrne said.

For the population growth benchmarks to be met, the provincial government will need the co-operation of all levels of government, stakeholders and employers, Byrne said.

The study included a public consultation with nine town hall meetings in the summer of 2007. The government received about 100 responses from New Brunswickers during the consultations. Thirty briefs were also submitted.