You don't need to convince Tony Keats that the anticipated population decline in Newfoundland and Labrador is a big deal.

The mayor of Dover, a small town in Bonavista Bay, is also the president of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador.

We need to talk more about regionalization. - Dover Mayor Tony Keats

That means he's very familiar with a recent study from Memorial University's Harris Centre which predicts the province's population will drop by about eight per cent within 20 years.

Some towns will probably die. Others, such as Roddickton on the Northern Peninsula, are expected to lose 40 per cent of their population.

MNL CEO Craig Pollett speaking during the Rethinking Resettlement' town hall in Gambo. He was one of several people who promoted regionalization as a way to respond to the future population decline anticipated for Newfoundland and Labrador. (CBC)

And Keats said he's pretty sure people left will still want the exact same services that they get now, even though finding ways to pay for them will be difficult.

"I think we need to come together," said Keats. "We need to talk more about regionalization."

Duplication of fire departments, town offices

Keats spoke at CBC Newfoundland and Labrador's recent town hall, Rethinking Resettlement.

About 50 people gathered at the Smallwood Interpretation Centre in Gambo at the end of November to talk about the future of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

We need to start thinking about regions. - Craig Pollett

Craig Pollett, executive director of MNL, also suggested regionalization was a crucial issue for bigger towns, too.

"Gander depends on Gambo more than Gambo depends on Gander," Pollett said, arguing that efforts to track business transactions show that people in smaller communities do their shopping in hub towns like Gander.

"To say that the urban centres can make it without the rural places is just fundamentally false — it's wrong. We need to start thinking about regions."

Echoing problems

It wasn't just the municipalities group voicing concerns about how rural regions operate.

Audience member Len Muise, of Gambo, called for a "realignment" of rural communities, explaining that he's deeply concerned about the province's large debt.

Robin Brentnall of Gambo says there's already a shortage of home care workers in the town. (CBC)

"We have to match the towns or the areas that we want to put our resources in — our very limited resources," said Muise.

"We can't afford to have a fire department and a town office with managers and staff every five or 10 miles away from each other."

Robin Brentnall also wondered how services will be provided in the future.

"Here in Gambo, we have a lot of seniors and we can't get home care workers," Brentnall told the crowd. "There's not enough young people to do it. We're feeling the same pinch everyone is."

You can watch the full town hall on CBC Newfoundland and Labrador's Facebook page below: