New Brunswick’s population is growing, but not as quickly as the provincial government would like.

Last week, Premier Shawn Graham said New Brunswick has had a net gain of almost 4,600 people since the start of 2007.

The government had hoped to see the population increase by 6,000 people by the end of this year.

When Graham was elected in 2006 the province’s population was declining. After he was elected, Graham created a “self-sufficiency plan” for the province that called for the addition of 100,000 new residents by 2026.

Victor Boudreau, the minister responsible for the province's population growth secretariat, said he's optimistic about growth in New Brunswick, even though the province may fall short of its 2009 goal.

”I think we’re going to be pretty darn close, especially if the trends continue the way they have been,” Boudreau said. “When you look at the trend line, we're seeing increases quarter over quarter.”

New Brunswick is still losing more people to other provinces than it gains, however: all of the growth since early 2007 has come from new births and immigration from outside Canada.