'Optimism for our future': Nova Scotia hits its highest population yet

The Halifax skyline is seen from Dartmouth, N.S., in this photo taken on June 15, 2018. (Andrea Jerrett/CTV Atlantic)

HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia has hit its largest population yet, and is ever-so-slowly closing in on one million people.

Statistics Canada says there are now almost 959,942 people in the province, thanks to a bump of more than 23,000 since 2015.

The data shows an increase of 9,262 people since last July, due to the arrival of 5,137 immigrants as well as interprovincial migration.

"This is another positive sign that brings optimism for our future, including strong exports, the most full-time jobs on record and increased tourism visits," Premier Stephen McNeil said in a release.

Nearly half of the population -- about 426,000 -- is in Halifax, and the port city is booming, its downtown filled with cranes.

Earlier this week, the city's tech incubator, Volta, officially opened an expanded office space that has tripled its size to 60,000 square feet.

"A significant core of high-growth innovation companies has come together here in Halifax to form the largest innovation hub in Canada outside of southwestern Ontario," Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison, the Treasury Board president and minister of digital government, said in a release.