2 days ago
The Lifesaving Society in N.S. and N.B. is reporting rising lifeguard numbers for the summer
After years of declining certifications, the tides are finally turning: The number of trained lifeguards in the Maritimes is growing again.
Both the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Lifesaving Societies are reporting an abundance of trained lifeguards to cover beaches, lakes and pools this summer.
'Numbers for the first quarter of 2025 are really high,' says Grégoire Cormier, the New Brunswick Lifesaving Society's program manager.
Cormier says the 234 lifeguards trained in the first quarter of the calendar year are fully certified pool attendants. There isn't any waterfront training for beach lifeguards during the first three months of the year in New Brunswick.
'The trend is going in the right direction,' says Cormier. 'We have a lot more lifeguards trained in these three months than in the same period in 2024 and the same period in 2023. It's a good sign.'
New Brunswick had 653 National Lifeguards for all of 2024, compared to 617 in 2023, and 593 in 2022.
Michael Melenchuk, the executive director of Nova Scotia's Lifesaving Society, says that the province's numbers look 'pretty good at this point'.
'We have the contract for the Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service that does the provincial park beaches, and we're fully staffed all over the province,' says Melenchuck.
Nova Scotia had 927 National Lifeguards for 2024, compared to 906 in 2023, 866 in 2022, 814 in 2021, and 612 in 2020.
More trained lifeguards are staying in the industry but Melenchuck tells CTV News Atlantic it's 'still a struggle' to hire in rural parts of the province for both beaches and pools.
'It's not easy outside of many of the urban centers to find staff that are living in those rural communities that hold the right certifications to do not just lifeguarding, but also things like teaching swim lessons and certifying new lifeguards,' he says. 'But our numbers are better than what we had before the pandemic.'
Both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick saw a big dip in lifeguard numbers during, and after, the pandemic due to closures and restrictions.
'There were people that took a couple years off from training,' adds Melenchuck. 'Some of them got back on, and they're wanting to become lifeguards. Some of them left for other jobs.'
Both Melenchuck and Cormier credit years of community effort for the recovery.
'I think it's just that period of adaptation,' says Cormier. 'So, people come back to the pool, people get interested in those courses and whatnot, and it doesn't happen overnight. I think it's just an accumulation of hard work from our affiliates. And finally, today, we see those results.'
Affiliates – local aquatic facilities – have been a big part of the recruitment drive, says Melenchuk.
'They're talking to high schoolers to find out if they're interested in that path for employment,' he says. 'They have really good marketing systems where they let people know that these courses are available. They also follow-up, that's one of the strategies they use is to call all the people that took the previous course and see if they're interested in continuing on.'
Melenchuk says most lifeguards are between the ages of 18 and 22 and recruiters have noticed a change in applicants who are looking for more work-life balance.
'Some people really want flexibility in their schedules, and I totally understand that,' says Melenchuck. He says another big factor is pay.
'We have a lot of small, community-based pools that work on a very tight budget. So, their ability to offer higher wages isn't always possible.'
The Lifesaving Society of Nova Scotia has also seen an increase in lifeguards from outside Nova Scotia coming to the province for summer work.
In New Brunswick, Parlee Beach Provincial Park has received more than three times the number of applications needed.
'They usually have training courses and offer those certifications directly,' he says.
According to the 2024 Canadian Drowning Report, less than one per cent of water-related deaths occur in a setting supervised by lifeguards.
'There's a sense of accomplishment when you finish your shift,' says Melenchuck. 'It can be very rewarding.'
