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rfmcdonaldThe Edmonton Sun, as befits one of the major papers of the capital of Alberta, easily Canada's wealthiest province (PDF format), yesterday carried an article from the Canadian Press, "Atlantic Canada losing productive citizens". It says little that's particularly new.
The quick answer to McGuire's plaintive question is that of course Atlantic Canada won't be able to convince its emigrants to return, never mind attract new immigrants from abroad. Barring bankruptcy, I can't think of a reason offhand why I'd want to return. Toronto simply offers many more opportunities than Atlantic Canada can hope to offer. Many are the Torontonians I've talked to who've expressed a weird sort of pseudo-nostalgic attraction to PEI, but far fewer are those who've actually moved. Too, there's local bigotry: I wouldn't like to belong to a visible minority group on Prince Edward Island.
The CP article goes on to suggest that high taxes are responsible for Atlantic Canada's lag, that lowering taxes sharply would be enough to trigger an Irish-style economic boom. As it turns out, the situation is rather more complex than that. Massive inward investment via private businesses' investments and European Union structural funds played a critical role, while the combination of low labour costs stemming from Ireland's poverty relative to the rest of northwestern Europe and high standards of education attracted foreign investment. Ireland's membership in the then-European Economic Community from 1973, in the meantime, opened up the markets of mainland Europe to Irish exporters.
Atlantic Canada, unfortunately for the Canadian Press, is part of Canada and therefore part of NAFTA. There can be no 1973. It is true that Atlantic Canada's low productivity vitiates low labour costs, but the connection between this and taxation policy is less than clear. And we've been received transfer payments for a good long while.
How can this be solved? Frankly, I don't think that it can. A partial solution might be to accelerate the depopulation of Atlantic Canada, reducing EI payments and subsidies to agriculture and fishing and encouraging still more people to move west. Getting these measures past the federal government is another thing, especially when the current federal government is so dependent on Atlantic Canadian MPs. We're doomed. Best to pack up and, in the words of the song, "go west."
FREDERICTON -- Politicians and labour experts in Atlantic Canada are increasingly worried about the exodus of economic refugees from the region, who are drawn by the promise of big bucks and golden opportunities in Alberta.
Going down the road may not be a new phenomenon, but these days Alberta is like a giant labour sponge, sucking skilled workers from hard-luck provinces like New Brunswick, where plant closures and pulp mill shutdowns have created a sense of economic gloom.
[. . .]
Joe McGuire, minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, notes ruefully that Fort McMurray - the centre of Alberta's oil boom - houses the largest population of Newfoundlanders outside St. John's.
"If we don't have people, we don't have an economy," says McGuire, who has launched a cross-country speaking tour to counter Atlantic Canada's image as a hapless region.
"With so many young people leaving and with our aging population, the challenge for the future is how do we keep our young people here, how do we bring them back and how do we integrate immigrants into our communities?"
Figures from Statistics Canada's most recent five-year census, released in 2002, show that Newfoundland's population declined by 7% - more than in any other province - between 1996 and 2001. The populations of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were also shrinking and aging.
While Prince Edward Island's population grew by 0.5%, or about 250 people, the province's median age was rising faster than the national average.
The quick answer to McGuire's plaintive question is that of course Atlantic Canada won't be able to convince its emigrants to return, never mind attract new immigrants from abroad. Barring bankruptcy, I can't think of a reason offhand why I'd want to return. Toronto simply offers many more opportunities than Atlantic Canada can hope to offer. Many are the Torontonians I've talked to who've expressed a weird sort of pseudo-nostalgic attraction to PEI, but far fewer are those who've actually moved. Too, there's local bigotry: I wouldn't like to belong to a visible minority group on Prince Edward Island.
The CP article goes on to suggest that high taxes are responsible for Atlantic Canada's lag, that lowering taxes sharply would be enough to trigger an Irish-style economic boom. As it turns out, the situation is rather more complex than that. Massive inward investment via private businesses' investments and European Union structural funds played a critical role, while the combination of low labour costs stemming from Ireland's poverty relative to the rest of northwestern Europe and high standards of education attracted foreign investment. Ireland's membership in the then-European Economic Community from 1973, in the meantime, opened up the markets of mainland Europe to Irish exporters.
Atlantic Canada, unfortunately for the Canadian Press, is part of Canada and therefore part of NAFTA. There can be no 1973. It is true that Atlantic Canada's low productivity vitiates low labour costs, but the connection between this and taxation policy is less than clear. And we've been received transfer payments for a good long while.
How can this be solved? Frankly, I don't think that it can. A partial solution might be to accelerate the depopulation of Atlantic Canada, reducing EI payments and subsidies to agriculture and fishing and encouraging still more people to move west. Getting these measures past the federal government is another thing, especially when the current federal government is so dependent on Atlantic Canadian MPs. We're doomed. Best to pack up and, in the words of the song, "go west."
