The mayor of Saint John is urging the provincial government to offer free tuition as a way to spur on a baby boom after the latest demographic portrait of the southern city shows it is not growing very quickly.

Saint John Mayor Ivan Court said something needs to be done to encourage Saint Johners to have more babies.

'When I taught high school three years ago, most people were saying they weren't going to have children because they couldn't afford to educate them.'— Ivan Court, Saint John mayor

He said a provincial initiative that would offer free post-secondary education might help Saint John's population grow rather than shrink.

"When I taught high school three years ago, most people were saying they weren't going to have children because they couldn't afford to educate them," Court said.

Court's comments came after a Statistics Canada's presentation on Saint John's population figures on Wednesday. Representatives from the statistics agency are travelling the country offering demographic analyses of different communities.

Saint John's population loss worth following: StatsCan

According to the latest census, Fredericton and Moncton grew by more than five per cent between 2001 and 2006. But Saint John's population fell by 0.2 per cent.

Marc Melanson, a regional adviser with Statistics Canada, said although the drop in population might seem insignificant, it's worth paying attention to.

"Of the 33 [census metropolitan areas in the country], Saint John is one of only two that lost population," Melanson said. Saguenay, Que., was the other, dropping by 2.1 per cent.

According to the census, women in Saint John are having on average 1.45 children. But for a population to replace itself, he says that number needs to increase to 2.1 children per woman.

Melanson said immigration is the best way for Saint John to reverse the trend.

"We're typically Canadian born, white people, speak English. I mean that's what Saint John looks like," he said.