Nova Scotia is becoming home to a growing number of British emigrants.

The Ports say they moved to Halifax from the U.K. for a better life.
(CBC)

The number of Britons settling in the province nearly tripled between 2002 and 2006, from 74 to 221, according to the federal Immigration Department.

And since last summer, Halifax real estate agent Donna McNeil has found homes for five British families.

"To me, that's a fair number in a short period of time," McNeil told CBC News. "It tells me that a lot of British people are immigrating to Canada and we're becoming a very popular location."

McNeil helped Keith and Lisa Port find their house in Halifax. Like other immigrant families, the couple moved to Nova Scotia for a better life.

"We actually can afford to buy a house here. We couldn't in the U.K.," said Lisa Port, a lawyer and hypnotherapist. Her husband works in the information technology industry.

The province got a boost last month when London's Daily Mail newspaper reported on how Britons were drawn to Nova Scotia by value, safety and beauty. In fact, a recent survey of expatriates around the world placed Canada as the top country in which to retire.

June Spindloe, owner of Mumford Bed and Breakfast in Halifax, which caters exclusively to British immigrants, has bought a second property in Dartmouth to accommodate those waiting for homes.

"Just the amount of bookings now are basically all people who want to relocate," she said.

Spindloe's husband, Mark, is featured in a video produced for the federal government. The two-minute item was recently posted to a website designed to help newcomers acclimatize.

Still, June Spindloe believes even more Britons would come if the province was promoted better.

Looking for image boost

"People do Google everything and they do get all of the information that's out there, and even if it's negative in the sense that Nova Scotia is always perceived as the poor province," she said.

Elizabeth Mills, with the province's Office of Immigration, admits Nova Scotia's image could use some improvement. The department hopes that employers in Nova Scotia will attend immigration fairs in the United Kingdom.

"People want even more concrete evidence of what are the actual openings in [their] area of expertise," said Mills.

It took Keith and Lisa Port three years to work through the immigration system to come to Nova Scotia. They say there are more people like them who are only too happy to make the province their new home.