New Brunswick's immigrant and First Nations populations are continuing to grow, according to the latest Statistics Canada data.

On the Elsipogtog reserve, Chief Jesse Simon wasn't surprised by the census numbers that were released on Wednesday.

"We're an exploding population," Simon said.

The census data puts Elsipogtog at 2,000 people, an increase of nearly five per cent in the last five years. However, Simon said that number is higher, about 3,200 people live on the reserve now.

The community is growing with younger generations. About 60 per cent of people living in Elsipogtog are under the age of 30.

"We are growing five times faster than the national average. I think First Nations across Canada are generally growing three times faster. We've hit the million mark," he said.

The increasing population has meant growing families are having a hard time finding childcare.

The childcare programs can't keep up with the growing population. It is estimated that 70 babies are born on the reserve each year.

Sherilyn Sock has been trying to get her two youngest children into the community's only Mi'kmaq childcare program for a year and a half.

"I find it very difficult because as a single parent and me trying to find time for myself is very hard," Sock said.

An exploding growth rate also comes at a cost when mixed with the high unemployment rate, Simon said.

"If you have restless young people not doing anything," Simon said.

"The only thing they can do is get into trouble. That's why I think it's a serious issue that needs to be dealt with now."

Newcomers to N.B.

Along with the growing Aboriginal population, the population of newcomers to New Brunswick is also rising.

The latest numbers out of Statistics Canada show New Brunswick's population has expanded in the past five years.

New Brunswick's population expanded by almost three per cent and immigration has doubled since 2006 when the last numbers were released.

Sunny Park and her husband immigrated to Saint John after moving from Korea seven years ago.

Park said it was hard at first to adjust, but it's better now, after buying her dream business, a tea shop, in the city market.

It helped get her out of the house and into the community, she said.

Park and her husband were fast-tracked through the immigration process thanks to the Provincial Nominee Program.

That happened before the provincial government brought in a $75,000 fee, something the Parks wouldn't have been able to afford.

That kind of money could be discouraging other immigrants, she said.

"Why they try to find a job, or career, or study instead of deposit? These things are better, I think. So I think government, they shouldn't. It's not fair," Park said.

Michael Hann, who studies the movement of people at the University of New Brunswick, said while the numbers are encouraging, there's much more to be done.

Hann is trying to help the province attract more immigrants.

"A lot of effort was put in trying to get people to come here. Less was focused, perhaps, on retention and research around retention. So that, if we know the extent to which an immigrant who comes here will stay, we can start to target people that we know will be more likely to stick around."

Only about one per cent immigrants to Canada end up in New Brunswick, Hann said, but with a better strategy the province could easily bump up the percentage.