Canadians go west in black-gold rush

About 11,000 Newfoundlanders now live in the main oil-patch town, Fort McMurray – the largest concentration outside of St. John's, their capital. In April, Air Canada began running direct flights between those two cities to meet the demands of workers, many of whom leave their families behind.

Oil companies have sent mass mailings urging Atlantic Canadians to "go west," while the Westfair supermarket chain has held job fairs across Atlantic Canada in an effort to hire the hundreds of cashiers and supervisors it needs to man its Alberta stores. Some Fort McMurray fast-food restaurants and convenience stores pay starting wages as high as $14.95 (US $12.93) an hour. Salaries for skilled workers are often more than 60 percent higher than in Atlantic Canada.

"They're paying wages that nobody outside that area can afford to pay," laments Vaughn Sturgeon, chairman of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association in Moncton, New Brunswick. "Almost every trucking company I know of in Atlantic Canada is looking for drivers and can't find them."

"You're already seeing early signs of projects being delayed or decided against because of this outflux of workers," says Charles Cirtwill of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. "It's a critical situation that jeopardizes economic growth."

Atlantic Canada's population has been aging for many years, as young people move to more prosperous areas. That's created a dearth of young entry-level workers, particularly in rural areas. Many of those who remain are employed in seasonal industries like fishing and tourism, and in some cases can make more collecting unemployment in the off-season than by taking jobs offered by convenience stories or seafood processors.

"The welfare state is more attractive than many entry-level jobs," says Mr. Cirtwell. "Retailers and restaurants simply can't get the people."

The situation is compounded by a dearth of foreign immigrants, according to Richard Gauthier of the Moncton-based Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). "Even when we're able to attract immigrants, they don't stay here," he says. "They come for a few years and then migrate to Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver."

A 2004 ACOA survey of immigrants to the region found that their primary source of dissatisfaction was a lack of economic opportunities.

Prince Edward Island has had modest success in retaining immigrants and attracting islanders home from other parts of Canada. It is the only province in Atlantic Canada that is not losing population, notes Michael Currie, the island's minister of development. He credits the island's small but prosperous aerospace industry, which now employs over 800 people – a significant economic driver in a province with only 138,000 residents.

"We've somehow managed to bring home more people than we've lost," Mr. Currie says, noting that many islanders would return if the economic opportunities were there. "Fort McMurray offers big money, but it's absolutely no place to take a family."

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