Xander Gopen, a town planner from the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission, gave a formal report to the St. George Town Council at Magaguadavic Place. He said winter is fairly quiet in terms of planning for the community, which is normal given the time of year. He said that the Service Commission, instead, has been quite busy with enforcement given that some residents have either built or altered homes, businesses or structures in the community without first checking the by-laws or asking for consent before going ahead with construction. 

On the positive front, Gopen said Statistics Canada recently released its 2021 data, which showed that the Town of St. George has grown by 4.1 per cent in the last five years.  "I don't know how many of you were as excited as I was to find out Stats Can was releasing new data," joked Gopen. "But St. George's growth is actually quite exciting."

Like other communities in Southwest New Brunswick, St. George has experienced a notable growth spurt in the past few years, which can be attributed to more western Canadians choosing to relocate to the Maritimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, all of the major communities in Charlotte County grew during the pandemic.

"It's really great to the see the community expanding because, between 2011 and 2016, St. George experienced a slight decline," said Gopen. "But in the last five years, all of Charlotte County saw growth, so this is really positive news for the entire county."

With growth comes the challenge of finding housing for the new residents, which means the planning for the community will likely experience an uptick once spring arrives.