Question: If you’re young, or have very little education, where’s the best place in the country to find a job, make a decent income and prosper?
Answer: Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
Most Canadians likely suspect that economic opportunities are increasingly available in Western Canada. But the hard numbers for young adults (a group I spotlighted in my recent study) reveal stunning, positive facts about the three Western-most provinces. The same data is flashing neon warning signs at Central and Eastern Canada.
Consider migration patterns for the 25 to 34 age group — call them the “young career class” likely finished their education and seeking a job. Over a 10-year period (2003 to 2012), Alberta gained 60,855 young career class adults, on a net basis, from other parts of the country. British Columbia gained 10,643 while Saskatchewan stopped losing young people and gained 581.
During that same 10-year period, on a net basis, Quebec lost 24,355 young adults while Ontario lost 27,451. (Manitoba and Atlantic Canada also bled young adults but that’s been a constant for some time.)
So what explains this westward migration?
Private sector investment, which left a cornucopia of jobs and income in its wake.
more
Milke: Why the West has won Canada’s youth
Answer: Alberta, followed by Saskatchewan and British Columbia.
Most Canadians likely suspect that economic opportunities are increasingly available in Western Canada. But the hard numbers for young adults (a group I spotlighted in my recent study) reveal stunning, positive facts about the three Western-most provinces. The same data is flashing neon warning signs at Central and Eastern Canada.
Consider migration patterns for the 25 to 34 age group — call them the “young career class” likely finished their education and seeking a job. Over a 10-year period (2003 to 2012), Alberta gained 60,855 young career class adults, on a net basis, from other parts of the country. British Columbia gained 10,643 while Saskatchewan stopped losing young people and gained 581.
During that same 10-year period, on a net basis, Quebec lost 24,355 young adults while Ontario lost 27,451. (Manitoba and Atlantic Canada also bled young adults but that’s been a constant for some time.)
So what explains this westward migration?
Private sector investment, which left a cornucopia of jobs and income in its wake.
more
Milke: Why the West has won Canada’s youth
