Nova Scotia’s gotten less crowded in the last year, and that’s not a good thing. Last month, the 2013 population estimates were released by Statistics Canada. Canada added 400,000 people last year. Factoring in movement within the country, all provinces and territories added residents except the Northwest Territories (-83 people), Newfoundland (-139) and New Brunswick (-947). Oh, and Nova Scotia: We lost 4,272 people. That’s four-and-a-half times as many people lost as the second-worst province.
It gets worse if you dig deeper. Every five-year bracket up to the age of 50-54 in Nova Scotia lost people. Every bracket from 50-54 and up added people. This is in part due to our population aging, but young and mobile people are also leaving this province. Movement between provinces was negative for most, while Alberta added over 50,000 Canadians from other provinces in ONE YEAR ALONE.
Help isn’t on the way naturally. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were the two provinces/territories in Canada to have more deaths than births last year. We’d need to triple our immigration to get back to stagnant population growth— and it hasn’t been growing for years.
So now that I’ve covered the doom and gloom, where do we go from here?
We need a coordinated and bold youth-centered agenda in this province and this city. Given we know youth (under 35) are more likely to move around, and want to locate in an urban centre—that means a bold Halifax. I think, perhaps reluctantly, parents throughout this province would admit they’d prefer their sons and daughters thriving in Halifax than in Calgary. At least we’d visit more often, and the taxes we pay in the city pay for services province-wide.
I did some work on labour market outcomes for young people in a project called the Halifax Index last year. Between 2006 and 2012, those over the age of 45 absorbed all of the net employment growth in the city. Underemployment is so rampant that baristas are unionizing—that’s now a career many are in for long enough to think about benefits and raises. There are skill mismatches, and experience gaps, and we aren’t doing a great job of closing them.
What if, instead, we were the easiest city in Canada to become an entrepreneur? What if affordable incubators, and exits from them, were the norm? What if we appreciated and supported art’s vital role in our city? What if we had more beautiful and active public spaces? What if our governments were transparent and hackable? What if we were the first province in Canada to provide universal, affordable child-care, attracting young families where parents want to continue careers? What if we went all-in on rapid transit and active transportation?
Any one of these things would radically change the way we attract and retain young people, and would involve a cost. We’d probably have to stop or slow a few other things. But the status quo—millions of dollars invested saving or attracting companies that won’t be here on their own, investing in urban sprawl, and endless conferences explaining the demographic problem—is costing us something too. Last year, the status quo cost us 4,272 Nova Scotians.
Cities like Portland, Austin, San Francisco, Vancouver and Calgary aren’t thriving hubs for young professionals for natural reasons. They are intentionally creating the conditions that make young, mobile people want to start businesses there. The mayors of Seattle and Chicago are publicly duelling bike plans to attract each other’s tech sectors. I imagine tech workers in either city feel a strong sense of belonging as a result.
We need to steal the playbooks of states and cities that have figured out that young and mobile is an economic driver and start implementing them today. Let’s add a few of our own ideas and make it easier to implement them. We aren’t going to reverse this problem edging at the status quo. Other places aren’t doing that, and they are where young people are increasingly headed.
I’m tired of going-away parties—welcome parties are way more fun. Let’s be bold and intentional about having more of them.
David Fleming is an economist, business association leader, cyclist and urbanist. He blogs infrequently at http://dfleming.ca and tweets @northenddavid.
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This article appears in Dec 12-18, 2013.
I don’t know about the last years’ trend but this number rather seems like an error in the data collection or reporting to me than a true population drain. I would wait for next year’s figures before pressing the Panic button.
Having said that, any of the changes you proposed would do Halifax good, irrespective of the population stats.
@AlfredJingle. David Fleming’s numbers are just a click away at Statistics Canada:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/s…
Population Estimates are based on tax records, so they are highly accurate. This number is a grave concern. It represents about 0.5% of the province’s population. You may not think that 0.5% is much, but the wealth and generated by 4200 people, when compounded year over year (and not accounting for the families that may come from them) represents a significant loss of culture and capital to the province.
@Mike Steeleworthy
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo02a-eng.htm
Nova Scotia’s population size has been slightly increasing since 2009, now all of a sudden there’s a sharp drop. From my experience as a researcher, in the majority of cases this rather indicates some problem with or change in the way data are collected/reported/estimated. Data estimates always have a variability and this may simply be an outlier.
The population estimates don’t come from tax records but are rather based on census data, vital statistics, and migration data:
“Population estimates – preliminary, updated and final – are produced by the component method. This method consists in taking the population figures from the most recent census, adjusted for CNU [census net undercoverage] (including IEIR [incompletely enumerated Indian reserves]), and adding or subtracting the number of births, deaths, and components of international and interprovincial migration.” (http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&db=imdb&adm=8&dis=2&SDDS=3604&lang=en#a2)
There’s another, more subtle reason why it’s difficult to move to the Eastern provinces. There is a general suspicion of new comers to the area that do not have family ties. I have had several friends over the years who tried to move to Halifax and be integrated, but were met with social hostility from the residents. These people were naturally outgoing and made friends easily, but were met with cold stares and closed doors. One friend, after making a go of it for a year, packed up and returned home.
The first time I hear of this happening, I thought it was a fluke or a bit of bad luck. But I have heard this story several times over the years, so it’s making me wonder: do folks in the Eastern provinces even want “outsiders” to move to their shores? It may be something to explore.
@AlfredJingle. Respectfully: interprovincial migration *is* determined from CRA administrative data.
The StatCan IMDB record you cited is a summary catalogue entry of the _Estimates_ product. IMDBs do not fully detail methods and sources because they are written for a general audience.
Instead, see _Population and Family Estimation Methods at Statistics Canada_ (2011, rev. 5/2013; pub.91-528-X), Chapter 7, sec. 7.1 to learn that STC in fact pulls data directly from CRA to determine interprovincial migration:
“Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) provides Statistics Canada with data from the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) program and personal income tax returns, which are used to estimate interprovincial migration. Preliminary estimates by month are derived quarterly from CCTB data, while final estimates are derived annually from the T1 Family File (T1FF)2
Since 1976, personal income tax records have become the official data source for final interprovincial migration estimates. The population covered by tax data is more comprehensive than that of the CCTB; in general, interprovincial migration estimates based on tax data are considered to be of higher quality than those produced using data from the CCTB.”
Link : http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-528-x/2011…
For the record: I don’t doubt that errors can occur in in any data tabulation or collection. I do doubt that your suggestion is case here. The odds are incredibly low that CRA has lost 4200 people from Nova Scotia in one year, that no one in the agency noticed this and tried to account for it, and that we’re only catching onto it now that the data has been sent to STC and disclosed as part of their Estimates.
Halifax is not a city and certainly not anywhere near the population of ” Portland, Austin, San Francisco, Vancouver and Calgary ”
Pre-amalgamation the City of Halifax was just 112,000 people.
And ‘Rapid Transit’ – for who and why ?
The roads are busy for a few hours 5 days a week and after that Metro Transit buses are a dead zone.
Read your blog and enjoyed it. Good luck wherever you go.
Another cry-baby! Go. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
let’s elect people on city council who aren’t bloated 40+ middle/upper class windbags for once (excluding the honourable Jennifer Watts) and maybe we’d see some policy change that didn’t include blowing $50 million on a useless convention centre.
a missing piece in this good article is that of post-secondary education. The average graduate from an undergrad program, often the minimum credential for employment now, leaves university with $35,642 in debt (statscan). Beyond being a push factor for graduates that need to pay it off asap and will go wherever the best paying job is, high debt makes young entrepreneurs much more risk-averse. If we want to turn those around we need to find ways of lowering tuition fees, which are the root cause of student debt.
I understand why Nova Scotia’s population is shrinking, as I am a part of the statistic. I moved away 4 years ago, and though I love Nova Scotia, no where else will ever be home in my heart, I don’t have an urge to move back. The job I hold here in Ottawa (independently owned retail) would pay me at least $2.50 an hour less in Halifax, and I probably wouldn’t have benefits.
I see the arts scene in Ottawa thriving, people in the most targeted age groups (18-40) are out, supporting their city’s artistic community. The foodies in this city have a plethora of choices; and festivals and community events are common and supported. We even have millions of visitors in the WINTER, thanks to Winterlude, and this regions’ ability to recognize that people will come out, you just have to provide something for them to come to!
Transit that works would be a huge benefit to Halifax. I hear people complaining about OCTranspo, and I want to tell them to try getting somewhere by transit in Halifax! OCTranspo will seem like a private limousine service! (I exaggerate…a bit)
I can’t speak to the numbers, I don’t really care about the numbers, but I can tell you that Halifax feels stagnant (even with all those super awesome condo buildings going up everywhere!) when I visit, and not many people want to hang out in stagnant waters.
I agree with the tuition comment by John. I left NS 4 years ago because after my bachelor’s degree I was going to go rent poor living there. I now live in Texas and am making the same amount of money I would have at home but bc the cost of living is so low I can afford to pay back my debt much faster.
The statistics listed above are flawed. The majority of the outward migration was and still is being caused by the centralization of services in Halifax. If you look at movement within the province, there are far more people moving out of the urban areas into rural Nova Scotia. The key issue is the sheer lack of government support or interest in anything rural – once people leave the city, there is nothing left for them and any hope of success hinges on relocating to an area that is interested in cultivating services for young families.
This resonates personally with me. Me and my family have tried to settle here in Halifax, but it scares us that the price of living seems to just keep going up, and job opportunities don’t match up. We will try our best to make a living here, but there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to stay, and that makes me sad. I think we could put in place programs that would improve the demographics of our city. I see Halifax being a Portland in a few short years. If we try.
Isn’t it funny we all have time to bitch & complain but nothing ever changes! You see, all that happens is everyone has opinions and shits on anyone who offers an opinion designed to show optimism. The bottom line, start rallying around a basic question. How do we see Nova Scotia in 5, 10 years. Once we all agree on THAT, then we can agree on a plan. Stop the whining, those who sit back and hug a tree!
No doubt we have challenges–but a big part of the reason there was such a precipitous drop this year is because a bunch of paper mills finally shut down, and many of the employees had to go to Alberta to find a large enough blue-collar labour market. No doubt the people laid off at all the recent factory closures in southwestern Ontario will be doing the same thing.
We have many challenges to address, but it’s a fine line between realism and fatalism: To listen to some pundits, Nova Scotia invented the problem of stagnating rural economies or aging populations. Fact is, these are realities in every single province.
And I’m really rather tired of hearing people’s anecdotal “I could make more money in such and such city” argument. Fact is, HRM has one of the highest median incomes in the country, and the city’s unemployment rate is lower than Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. This comes as a shock to many people, but it’s true. And I’ve lived in Vancouver and Toronto, and can personally vouch that being a young job seeker is at least as difficult in those places.
We have to confront our challenges. But we also have to realize that things aren’t quite so bad as everyone is banging on about.
Anyway, I agree with the author’s insinuation that we need to encourage urbanization. We can’t ignore our rural areas, but we also have to acknowledge that 21st century economies are largely urban, and Nova Scotia, with only about 60% of the population in urban areas, trails the urbanization of the rest of the country. This is among our largest problems.
micturating in the wind. our municipal systems are not to blame. the state of our province (swidt?), and of course our capital, is not an isolated problem. it’s hardly even a result of our provincial, and federal systems’ failures. it’s just where we fit in, to the failed system of currency and economy that is poisoning all futures. you have salient points, and good suggestions, but you’re just talking about eking out a small slice of temporal prosperity within a dying global community. best of luck to you all.
@Nicole Saunders
I agree re: being a place like Portland, but it’s important to note that Portland is incredibly expensive nowadays too, partly as a result of its success. Halifax has a high tax burden, but it’s actually not THAT expensive in terms of housing costs.
If you want to see a really bad income to housing cost mismatch, try Vancouver–incomes are lower than in Halifax, and home prices are twice as high.
I would love to move back to Halifax, left 2 years ago. But it’s this constant young vs old, and with so many older voters the young’s voices are never heard.
In Halifax I had a car, in Toronto I do not. Couldn’t be happier, but Metro Transit simply isn’t usable for many.
Most available jobs didn’t pay very well, rent was expensive for what it was and location. Even if I did move back, most of my good friends have all left for Ontario/Alberta/BC. Entertainment was slim in Halifax unless you just want to drink for the sake of drinking. Other then family, there is not a lot of reason to move back to Halifax.
I wanted to stay home with my children instead of paying someone else to raise them. Nova Scotia makes it nearly impossible to stay at home without living in near poverty.
@philcloh2o
To reiterate what I said below–Torontonians actually have LOWER median incomes than Haligonians, and the average age in the two cities is nearly the same, so there’s really not overwhelming old-person voice in Halifax–at least no more than in Toronto.
To a very large degree, the problem is Nova Scotia’s chronic grass-is-greener syndrome.
(And yeah, Metro Transit sucks–but as someone who used the delay-plagued, overcrowded, under-serviced TTC for five years, I have a hard time imagining a Canadian transit system that serves its population base less effectively. Even Metro Transit cover the city marginally better than the TTC covers the great sprawl of TO.)
My wife and I in our late 30s moved to Nova Scotia 2 years ago in the hopes of having our soon to come newborn grow up here (now with a 2nd on the way) and have my business grow in this region to help out the economy. I am now in a position to create as many 150 jobs, but I am being stifled by a local County that has dragged me through legal mud for half a year and has left me in deep debt because of it and unable to move forward.
I am one of those job creators everyone seems to be so desperate to have here with computer jobs instead of manufacturing. I am still trying to reach out to other gov agencies, but with what the local County had already done to me, it will end up being a long haul for me being able to offer those jobs rather than this summer like I had planned.
I am still fighting… but really why should I have to?!
OKay, I’ve posted a bunch, but last thing:
While I wholeheartedly agree with the author’s prescriptions for a more dynamic city, I just noticed a few erroneuous assumptions, like that Vancouver is a hub for the young. Vancouver’s population is actually older than Halifax’s, with a median age of 40.2 to Halifax’s 39.9. And Calgary definitely is a hub for the young for “natural reasons”–it’s all that sticky stuff in the province’s far north.
@pigeon
TTC isn’t great, but it is usable. I am lucky that I live near a dedicated streetcar lane that brings me right to the subway. So for the most part it works quite well.
Wage wise I was offered much better positions in Toronto then anything in Halifax.
Interesting about the median age of the two cities being quite similar. I live in downtown Toronto, so I don’t see the older residents as much. I assume most of them live in the more suburb areas of Toronto.
I just left Newfoundland a month ago and intended to head back to my hometown of Halifax. After seeing the price of houses and the property taxes, I decided to move to New Brunswick. A 5000sq ft, 2 year old executive bungalow with all of the bells and whistles for $340,000. Try doing that in Halifax!!! I wish the housing markets were the same and that I was back home, but the housing market is going to tumble there very soon and I did not want to be one of the people who lost on it.
Help for young Entrepreneurs would be amazing in Halifax. It would make staying here much more worth it if I knew my business wouldn’t fail because of increased property taxes etc.
Wow. I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s talk about employment; the reality is that Halifax employers only hire within friend circles or people who are somehow connected to the company. You can have your Masters and struggle to get a minimum wage job. I was rejected from the Barrington street Tim Hortons, even though I have my MA, only to learn that a few weeks later, they hired many young workers with no experience. No matter where you apply, most places in Halifax will tell you the same thing… “we aren’t hiring”. This is because business owners are not able to bring in a stable clientele which creates a slippery slope for any big investment. Look at companies such as The Works burger restaurant: opened in February with massive popularity but slowly lost momentum and closed down. This is because for some strange reason, Nova Scotians can’t seem to properly market their business in a way that appeals to the younger generations.
I have my Masters in Psychology and have been unemployed for three months. Sorry Halifax, looks like 4,273 people will have had enough.
I left that province because i was literally living hand to mouth. i couldn’t save a dime. Out west they pay you what you’re worth and you can put money in the bank.
a friend of mine working landscaping out there at $15 an hour would get paid -at least- $10 more out here for the same job.
its ridiculous to say you need immigration when there are no jobs to be had and no money to be made.
i love Nova Scotia but its become a great place to visit, not to live.
Dave,
— Middle income earner visits the Maritimes from Alberta, Too much taxation on day to day purchases causes one to be frugal —
I’m located in Calgary but was brought up in Dartmouth and Moncton. I had NO IDEA !!, how much less income I was taking home
when I lived in the Maritimes. I love the Maritimes. When I visit home (on a budget), I pull out my wallet and I get over taxed.
Net result => I have less to spend. In effect, I get penalized for spending/ visiting
Reality is;
– Provincial Income tax is higher so less $$ annual income comes home
– HST really hits my spending allowance (clothes, Hotel rooms, car rentals, restaurant, fuel).
CHECK this out =>>>> PROPERTY TAXES…do not under estimate the impact => forecasting out costs of living.
Here are my numbers, taxes per $1,000.00 of assessment. I thought you might find this interesting as well. Sure makes it tough to move back home. If one was to retire in NB or NS with a paid for house…ones taxes would likely be DOUBLE per month what you would pay in Alberta.
— A $400,000.00 Calgary house is $2,100.00 a year
— A $400,000.00 Halifax house is $4,100.00 a year
also FYI
— same house as above, taxes on an owner unoccupied rental house in Alberta is same = $2,100.00
— same house as above, taxes on an owner unoccupied rental house in Maritimes is double the regular or $8,200.00.
Where would you retire on a fixed income when you retire??? I go with the place who puts more of my fixed income in
my pocket
i do think it is good to help bring this to light but the reason people are leaving is because there is no jobs here, we are extremely bullied by the federal government, and raped in taxes,,this will never stop unless the government wishes it, even Jack Laton (RIP) said it, they government made deals with the corporations to keep the poor poor and the rich rich,,nova scotia makes about 6.2 billion a year , the federal government takes 5.1 leave us the rest and says deal with it,no one stands up for our rights,,combine all these things and its the reason people are leaving ,,,,good luck changing that
We are over governed… at all levels. Past and current governments have indebted us to the max. We are over taxed to pay for it all. If someone soon doesn’t finally decide to put us in operational crises mode, freeze public sector wages, cut services and the size of government at all levels, more and more people will continually bail out of a system that overcharges them and robs them of opportunity. Bankruptcy is looming on the current path.
Excellent article Mr. Flemming. Well written and very relevant. One of the few articles I’ve read in a long time that address an issue that is relevant to my demographic. Keep up the great work and keep us posted on any progress on this issue. THANKS.
I came back to visit my home province last summer, and it is still a place with backward, racist, homophobic, ignorant people who are mesmerized by their own fear. That is the reason I left, and the reason I will not be coming back.
Disagree on the point about steeling playbooks from other cities. Nova Scotia has been steeling the Ontario playbook for decades and we all can see the impacts of that. What work’s in Seattle and Chicago wont work in Halifax. Darrell Dexter had vision and foresight and the revival of shipbuilding will be our made in ns solution should it ever get off the ground.
Hire young people. I tried for 6 months last year to get a job in Halifax, and I am very qualified to work in an executive office as an assistant, and nothing, no phone calls, no interviews. Also, I’m probably not in that statics due to the fact that I have not switched anything over to the new province I am living in, all that to say, there is probably more than the 4000 listed who have left Nova Scotia. I loved living in Nova Scotia, because I had access to the city, I did not love the town I lived in. If Nova Scotia is going to survive some major work is going to have to be done.
I am 24 years old and just moved away from Nova Scotia for two main reasons. First every apartment in downtown Halifax was so over priced and infested by mice it was impossible to stay sane. I finally moved to a wonderful, affordable place ( with out a pest problem) away from the downtown core and commuted. However being young and working full time I love living downtown and never minded paying for it, it was the on going mice infestations that kiled it ( 8 different buildings with 8 different landlords). And the real issue I left, wages. Doing the exact same thing on the opposite coast of canada where I now reside ( Vancouver island). I do the same job and went from making $12.50 to over $18.00 ( with the same company). I ask why can there be such a huge flux in wages and I’m simply told, the economy is horrible out east and we don’t have to pay more, we are competitive in the N.S. Market. Halifax was one of the best places I have ever had the experience of living, but I could barely make ends meet with horrible wages and high housing costs. It’s really too bad, it’s such a wonderful place to experience, there just is lack of opportunity.
We live in Iqaluit. Originally from NS, but moved here in 2003. We gave NS a shot in 2008 – 2011. Both of us are teachers with 2 small children. NS offers petty work and low wages, and very high costs of living in every sense of the word. Hiring practices were backwards, and prospects for the future were not much to speak of. Further, decreasing enrolment and what we saw happening in education led us to choose better opportunities for ourselves and our children. We opted to come back north (where the cost of living is about quadruple, but at least we are compensated accordingly).
NS needs to figure out how to get young people to stay. Our aging population is working longer than ever expected, and it’s eating up a lot of the work for the younger population, who are often paying HUGE tuition payments to make their way into fields that they will eventually give up on because there is no work …or they will move away. Policies need to reflect Nova Scotia’s vision for the future. NS will never be an Alberta…but it has huge potential in other areas. A lot of people don’t know how to be entrepreneurs (including myself), but it is very much a part of NS’s future. The NS government must figure out how to support people down this avenue.
Until that happens, we will continue to miss and long for our families and friends at home in NS, but settle for full time work, that we are well paid for, and the fantastic opportunities available to our children here.
A Halifax friend of mine once told me: “Nova Scotia is a great place to live, if you come with a little bag of money.” There is a lot of truth to that.
As Canadians we can move anywhere in the world or within the country and work anywhere we please. What a privilege that is! Coming to terms with all the facts (better wages somewhere else) helps us build a strategy for moving, earning and living.
Perhaps us young people are choosing to leave so that we can come back in a few years, with a little bag of money. Even a big one.
It’s important to look into what actually “young” NS people want as priorities, is is affordable childcare or public transit? I suspect (research in any case should be done) but it could be rich social interaction/experience, being part of something bigger and on the rise, great opportunities, culture. I am from and love Nova Scotia, but moved away 5 years ago and like many others have tried to get back a managed to recently only briefly because the career experience, growth and quality isn’t there, not that’s all to life but a big part. Although I am a glass half full person no policy plan or scheme can change the fact that Paris can’t become Seoul, Mexico City can’t become New York… Sadly in some cases the glass isn’t half full or empty, it’s just half full.
A key indicator to the severity of the issue is that while 5,000 people is a lot, it’s still only 5,000 even for a province of almost one million so if we’re worried about this size, which we should be, the issue is urgent.
Sadly I am also one of those statistics, I willingly moved from N.S. seeking better opportunities in Ontario. Not only did I find them but I also started my own family with 2 kids now and I have gotten my college degree here. I have only been here for 4 years but I can say positively I never would have had this kind of success in small town Amherst, N.S. Nova Scotia will always be my home, I love the land and the natural beauty it just lacks opportunity. I would give anything to be able to support my family and move my new husband and children there for good but we would never find jobs or housing opportunities to make it worth the move. It’s sad to think my children have never even seen the beauty of the ocean that I grew up with but for now I know I am doing what is best. I hope this article gets people thinking, I hope this can start a change that so desperately needs to happen so that one day soon and can bring my family to develop the love for the eastern provinces that I have. You are right on so many point and other that are commenting are hitting the nail on the head with their suggestions as well, so if we recognize the difficulties of living here and realize that we need a solution what is wrong with the people responsible for making these changes happen! I will share this through social media and hope it catches attention and spreads like wild fire ! Good luck David Fleming this is a great topic and well written article! From a 24 yr old east coaster at heart !
It’s simple, highest tax rates and lack of high paying jobs is key! I recently moved back to NS after living in Alberta for 12 years, and can’t believe how anyone can afford to live here. My household costs have over doubled! And people say it’s cheaper, I call bull!?$ my house here is smaller than what I had out west and it cost the same, taxes on the property are twice as much! Me and my family think it’s beautiful here but can not wait to move out! The oil and gas has looked at moving into NS but because people who have no idea what their talking about have decided to ban fracking, and make it soo difficult for companies to deal with our govt, our young people will always continue to move out, if their smart!
Interesting how virtually every poster has ignored the statistics posted earlier about HRM’s economy actually coming in well above the national average in most respects (income levels, empoloyment rates). Instead we here a lot of anecdotal stories about “there are no jobs”, “I had to leave,” etc, despite the fact that HRM out-performs the country’s three biggest cities employment-wise, and a lot of the smaller ones. That’s not my opinion, that’s statistics based on tax data and standardized data collection.
I suspect a lot of people are just having a hard go of it and are blaming the province, rather than the fact that it’s tough for a lot of people, in a lot of places.
Also, if you lived in Amherst and complain that you had to leave the province, well, that’s like leaving Ontario because Windsor sucks. It’s more the town than the province in that case.
Moving back to Nova Scotia was the worst financial mistake I have ever made. Eleven years ago I moved my family to Alberta for better paying year round job (4X more). I enjoyed the 5% sales tax verses 15%, 40% max income tax verses 50%, $2100 property tax verses $3900, $0.18 less per litre for fuel, cheaper power and natural gas for heating.
With my parents facing health problems we decided to move back while I commuted back and forth every two weeks. That first year back it was going to cost me another $16000 plus in income tax, I maxed out my RRSP limit of $33000 and only had to pay $865 more to the $68000 plus I had already paid. Just as a note I usually got between $3000 to $5000 back with $12000 in RRSP’S.
I was paying over $30000 a year between rent, utilities, taxies and plane tickets just to work in Alberta. This is considered personal in the eyes of the tax department, which means I would have to earn $60000 gross just to cover the cost. This is a win-win for the Nova Scotia Goverment, they don’t support the company I work for, yet benefit from my high income.
I am waiting until my children finish school and we will be moving back, not because I don’t like living here, it’s because there is no future for my children and I will put $25000 plus a year back in my pocket for my family to spend and not the Goverment of Nova Scotia.
People are moving because there is no money back home (Nova Scotia) I am 23 years old and making 80 to 100 thousand a year after being with security for 2 years and now as an emergency dispatcher. Also keep in mind I did not have any training as of two years ago my company did it all for me. Now if NS wants to offer me that kind of opportunity sure I’ll come home!
How about plain and simple its hard to make a decent living in Nova Scotia. So everyone moves to Alberta! Everyone in Nova Scotia works their butts off for min wage. When people working in Alberta at MacDonalds make more than a trades person in Ns! Absolutely pathetic! So why do people move out of NS? Because working for crap money all the time isn’t ideal. Step it up Nova Scotia!
Here’s a question – do you want to sit around and complain, perpetuating the negative complain-culture we have here in the Maritimes (speculative: spawned when we got f’ed over by Ottawa with the non-honoured confederation agreement), OR………………. do you want to think, innovate, and find ways to generate more income for ourselves and for the province, and work toward building a better life for ourselves and our peers? Really ask yourselves this question. I’m not trying to be coy, but seriously, you can only have one or the other. We have a track record for being pessimistic and self-defeatists; you see/hear it in almost every work place, supermarket, school, everywhere… people focus heavily on how awful things are, and more often than not, don’t bother providing or implementing solutions. This is a major
“unsuccessful” approach, and guess what the results are? Until people change their attitudes, there will be no positive results, no matter how many young people we coax into coming here. Cheer the f’ up and make it happen! 😀
It’s about more than just young people. Stereotypes are being made by the negative dismissal of anyone over 30 as “old people”. People of all ages are looking for jobs. People of all ages contribute to a vibrant, livable community. When I read articles like this, suggesting that policies should cater to young people while depicting older people as “bad news”, I say people with this mindset can move the hell away.
We certainly have a lot of wakening up to do in Nova Scotia. I’d like to make some suggestions on how to make this province a lot better. But we need legislation to make important changes. People can not live any more. Power has increased, gas prices are rising. Food prices, insurance of every kind. But the wages are not going up. The government has to legislate a higher minimum wage to at least 15 dollars an hour. If workers can not pay bills and contribute tax dollars to heath care, roads etc. What’s going to happen to us? Other places have implemented a higher living wage, like Australia . Workers get 16 dollars an hour minimum wage. In the USA , Washington state passed a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/seatac-15-minimum-wage-passes_n_4339492.html
We need to do similar measures in Nova Scotia to attract and keep our people, and to help our tax base. If you make more money, you have more to spend. The ripple effects will create more jobs and attract more people. https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisetheminimumwage/
We may be getting a February holiday in 2015, but we should have a few more holidays. Who wants to come here and live if we do not have holidays and time for families to be together. Having a ban on Sunday shopping wasn’t a bad thing either. It separated us from the rest of the country and it attracted other people to our area. So let’s ban Sunday shopping too. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/petition-to-stop-sunday-shopping-in-nova-scotia.html . After all the Nova Scotia government never told you the truth and what really happened with Sunday shopping. So if Sunday shopping is so profitable and companies are making all this money, why are wages low and why are people going out west? We also need to do something about NS Power, offer people grants especially low income people and seniors so they can get off the grid. We all need to wake up and see some of the important things in life , that we can offer Nova Scotians.
…. People are suprised by this? Halifax is a dump. I moved 5 years ago, there is nothing there beside the ocean, Alberta is way better, money, work, secrenry, 2 big cities to do whatever the hell you want.
The loss in population is directly correlated with lack of opportunity and excessive taxation. It’s true Halifax does have a higher median income compared to other cities, but it has a much lower NET income due to the excessive taxation. It’s time to stop embracing failed socialist policies and embrace the teneats of limited government and personal responsibility. We need to invite capital into this province and allow people to keep the fruits of their labour.
I moved to this Province in 2001 from the UK. Lots of changes in my life since then. For instance I am now a single parent. This Province claims to want new blood but there’s nothing here for the current occupants, let alone to attract new ones.
Despite paying the highest taxes, our services suck. We have family courts and maintenance enforcement yet no ability to enforce a damn thing. I work 80+ hours a week, am owed over $100k in child support, pay the highest taxes in the country, and yet am a low income family. If it wasn’t for the terms of the court order which force me to stay in NS with minor children, just in case their Dad wants to put in an appearance after being MIA for over 4 years, we would move too.
My now 17 year old plans on doing just that – heading out West as soon as school is done. There’s no opportunities here for him to learn a trade. My now 14 year old intends heading off elsewhere too to study for his doctorate.
NS has endless policies supposed to improve the quality of life for all but all they do is keep the honest folk honest.
I love this Province. I love the place, I love the people. But the infrastructure of zero support even for those working their butts off to survive, massive taxes on the dwindling population and little opportunity for future generations, means that even those who would like to stay, won’t be able to.
Great article, but it missed one obvious reason that young Nova Scotian’s are leaving the province they were born in….. job security. Those young people who have managed to find a decent paying job in a their chosen sector are being forced to leave due to job cuts, or changes to their benefits/pension that once made their career desirable in Nova Scotia.
Every one of my immediate family members have been affected by job cuts in this province, and it’s only going to get worse (ex. Canada Post + Nova Scotia Power) – why would you stay?
Terrific ideas. And if you want to learn about being an entrepreneur, take your idea to action, and possibly get it financed why not visit or call the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development or ceed.ca. We helped 150 people of all ages and stages start new businesses last year alone. Or call the Black Business Initiative, ISIS, the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Network or the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. CEED works closely with these organizations all across Nova Scotia. And you might want to check the new program in Pictou County to match people selling their businesses with young people who want to buy a ready-made business and get immediate cash flow supported by training, mentorship and financing. Thanks so much for raising this!
My husband and I left NS for AB in 2012…been here in AB almost 2 years…we’re both doing the same jobs here as we did in NS … for more than 2x the money. We still own our home in NS – mostly because the real estate market is so bad – and have purchased a home here in AB. It cost nearly $3000 per year to heat our home in NS versus less than $1000 per year here in AB; we pay more to have power turned on in NS with no one living there than we do here in AB – almost $200 every 2 months in NS and nothing is running? Never dreamed we’d ever leave NS but after being here almost 2 years not sure we will even return to retire…not sure we want to go back to struggling to survive…
I just finished my thesis on this topic, but focused on the outward migration of rural youth from Nova Scotia. I don’t think urbanization is the answer for many young people,unemployment rates in urban areas impact people aged 15-30 the most, but also because urban areas simply aren’t where everyone wants to live. Why should our residential preferences be dictated dimply by capitalist agenda…. which is what we are actually talking about here. Can we acknoweldge that we (myself included) are forced to leave because those who have wealth wish it? Once we collectively understand that is when we can actually tackle this problem in a sensible way.
I am 27 now, and I grew up in Truro. I now live in London, Ontario. London has one of the (and at times THE) largest unemployment rates of Canadian cities. There is still more opportunity here for me in the line of work I aim to be in than there is back home. There are also more extracurricular activities and programs for my children.
Lastly, in regards to unemployment rates, they can be misleading. Unemployment rates only capture those attached to the labour market. (EI or welfare, for example, contribute to unemployment.) New graduates not yet working would not be measured.
I left this year because the only companies Halifax tries to attract is call centers, and that is very depressing as they often take advantage of their employees. The major reason why I left is the lack of protection people have under Halifax labor laws. You are for the outside companies Halifax and not for your people! Smarten up, not everyone there is ignorant and most people there have given up for something better!
My husband and I took a voluntary transfer from HRM to Niagara, ON 2,5 years ago. I went from a full-time and a casual job to a part-time job. I make at least $4 less an hour. My husband’s pay is the same here. Ironically we are better able to live. I miss my parents immensely and have thought of moving back, since they won’t leave their family and friends, but it isn’t feasible. My husband’s job is no longer there. (Convergys) and the thought of paying double for groceries and everyday bills makes me shudder. We could buy 2 houses here for what we would pay where we were living. My kids also have so many more learning opportunities here. We see the benefits every day to staying, and no feasible way to move back. If prices go down, I’d move back in a second!
Instead of the GOVt investing millions if not more for immigrants to live here and are payed to do so in the process ! How about taking that money and investing in the god dam Province and it’s people that have had roots here since the 17th century and have a decent job creation program and help those in staying instead of using what money they have left and packing up and heading West !!! It’s pretty bad that people on old age pension can’t get enough to live yet the GOVT will pay to the teeth for a family from another country to live here and prosper !! And whats funny I’m all about Immigrant and building ones economy but not at the god dam of the expanse of the people that has lived here for century’s and built this Province from the ground up !
I left Halifax in ’09-’10 for Regina. It’s not like I ever had designs to live out here on the prairies but I was sick of minimum wage and here I am 3 years later. If NS wasn’t such a pit of despair employment wise, maybe I’d still be there. I felt like I had no opportunity, in SK I have felt like I have as good a chance as anyone to advance and work and have opportunity. I miss NS but what are ya gonna do? Visit once a year is what I do.
My husband wanted to start a company in Nova Scotia a number of years ago. After researching and do-diligence, he decided it was not feasible. Red tape, questionnaires, the rate of taxation were all mitigating factors- the very things that turn away entrepreneurs.
The whole exercise left him shaking his head at the policies in Nova Scotia.
It is safe to say that most anyone can hang a shingle in Alberta and make a living doing what they want to do.
Well in January i will have been in Alberta for ten years. Alberta has been great to me and my family in a means to support them. I now make a good living with a certain amount of security too. Things are growing and expanding. Opportunities are plentiful and frankly it is very uplifting. Upbeat. Successful!
I miss my family back in NS but don’t think I’ll ever entertain the idea of moving back. The lack of a means for a good and stable job just doesn’t do it for me. Work half a year a draw the government check the rest. No thanks! That’s not freedom but bondage to a faulty system of government and over all thinking as a province.
why did I leave?
Not much work. Poor wages and benefits. The general attitude that it’s only the government’s job to make changes.
It makes me sick to how opposed people are to new industry and for change and development. Just sick! I went back to university at age 27 with a family too. While there I watched as NS people made it too difficult for industry to come and set up businesses. The one example being the oil and gas industry. Hearings and all the false information being spread- destroying thousands of new and great paying jobs.
It’s time NS people allow change and open up the door to new industry and the jobs and spin off businesses it would create. No but not in our back yard! It’s ok to fill up that gas tank with gas as long as it didn’t come from NS. The oil and gas industry has co-existed everywhere with few problems.
It’s time Nova Scotian’s embrace change and stop living in the past.
I think I was one of the desired immigrants to Nova Scotia: at age 28 and with a degree in engineering (plus six years working as an Engineer in England) I moved there with my wife in 2004, age 28, initially to pursue a Master’s degree and see where things went… we liked the place and people, and I was able to get a job in Halifax when I finished University, then we had two kids, etc… BUT, as time went by, I became aware of how rare my job in my industry was in Nova Scotia, and that I could earn 50% more doing a similar position in Ontario or Alberta, besides paying a LOT less income tax… fears about my employer going bankrupt (they did one year after I left) and realisation that my career would not go anywhere unless I left private industry and worked for the government (seems to be the majority of good jobs in Halifax, which is not conducive to a vibrant economy) made me (plus wife and two young kids) leave the province…
What really frustrated me the most was the amount of red tape and unwillingness from the government to change the way things work, i.e. the outdated regulations that impede many business possibilities… we talked to the government in the hope of educating them, and I know other industries did the same… but nothing has changed… in my opinion, it would seem the Nova Scotia government is set to maintain the status quo at all costs (i.e. the departure of its own young and the non-creation of an increased tax-base), which would seem to be to not do or change anything (very little industry is allowed that makes or handles anything physical not required by the state) so that retirees and radical environmentalists who reliably draw paycheques from the state are kept quiet… which is rather sad, for it is those with young families working in private businesses that contribute the largest share of the province’s budget… and who ‘make’ and bring up the next generation of locals…
Bringing people from outside the province will not do anything to stop population loss, because those coming from outside will also leave once they figure out how things work… Nova Scotia’s #1 priority should be to create the opportunities for its own highly intelligent and hard working people; only then should carefully selected very talented people be attracted… bringing random people to an area for the sake of having more people will produce Mississauga (i.e. the locals leave and a non-descript blank megalopolis with no connection to the past results) IF there are jobs, or Scarborough if there aren’t (someone posted about unemployment being higher in the GTA than Halifax: certainly the case as a whole, for there is an excess of unskilled labour, but if you are good at something and reliable there is plenty of fairly well paid work and opportunity to grow).
@Jojhn Dunn
That’s not true–the higher taxes in NS are not nearly enough to give people a lower income relative to other places. The median income in HRM is almost $10,000 higher than in the Greater Toronto Area or the Lower Mainland (Vancouver) area. The higher taxes in NS only eat up a small extra fraction of that.
Again, assumptions and opinions are trumping facts in a big way here.
Unfortunately, assumptions and opinions are what make people move away, so maybe facts don’t matter. As it ever was.
Nova Scotia is still backwards. Everything is connected. It has always been who you know not what you know. Knock, knock, wink, wink businesses, permits, fundings and grants need to be overturned. If this continues to be ignored nothing will ever grow properly.
But you can dream and say we need to be more like the cities you mentioned. After all, you are the urbanist with a career. You do not need to rely on fundings or look beyond your paycheck tonsee what really is going on. Unbanist is a posh movement. Glad its working out for you.
This article is as informative as it is scary. I left back in 2000 and have since lived and worked in Toronto, Eastern/Western Europe and now back to Toronto. My family now has an ‘opportunity’ to return to Nova Scotia and I have got to say…the provincial government is doing an amazing job in supporting the launch of our new business. From ACOA to Innovacorps’ incubator programs, we could never dream of this level of potential funding and mentoring here in Ontario. That said, the concrete financial cases people have shared in this comment thread are eye-opening to say the least. Our decision to buck the trend and return will be made over the next few months. I do hope this article forces some real change and fast so that our ‘welcome back’ party doesn’t quickly turn into another ‘goodbye’ party…Thank you all for sharing your stories!
Comparing the whole GTA to HRM is comparing apples to oranges: both are fruits in trees, but one is orange and grows in warm climates and the other one can live in Cape Breton. The GTA is flooded with unskilled labour (combination of few or no technical skills and -usually- poor English and/or communication skills), drawing low wages. I cannot speak for all industries, but I can say that my position in my industry earns about 50% more than the same position in HRM; my wife works part-time in semi-skilled office admin and earns (after tax) almost what she did working a similar position full time in NS.
Furthermore, like for like, the same amount of wages means more money brought home at the end of the day. In my case, moving from NS to Ontario for exactly the same wage resulted in $4,000 more AFTER tax per year, a considerable AFTER tax amount in a yearly basis… and utilities and groceries are about 15% less where I live than they were in HRM… my job security is higher, and should my job fail, there are other opportunities available (in my industry AND other similar industries); these factors are very important for someone bringing up a young family, particularly if you are the only earner for a family of four (I was feeding all four of us on one income alone until a year ago).
I would love nothing more than to live in HRM again instead of the GTA, but the sleepless night worrying about work (and struggling to see a decent future for my kids) are just not worth it (or the harsh realities of being unemployed or underemployed for substantial periods of time).
We can put all the makeup we want in NS, but the harsh reality is that its population is going down, mainly as a result of its young leaving (and not having their families there), and that tourism and more University degrees alone are not going to rescue the province (as the NS government has been proclaiming for years).
One final comment: we LOVE Nova Scotia and would like to see it healthy and prosperous.
I have to say. As a born and raised nova scotian. Who had to relocate to alberta. I can speak for hundreds who i habe met as well. We move because taxes and cost of living are too high in nova scotia. And the rate of pay is horrible as well as good jobs are rarely avaible. And when they are they are usually unstable. You want us back? Lower taxes. Decrease the amount of rules and regulations to be in a trade or to wven own a vehicle. Take a page from alberta’s how to book. I have considered moving back recently until i looked at property costs. When you can buy the same house in edmonton for close to the same as nova scotia.. Why would i move back?? Wake up nova scotia. Please
Yea kinda hurting for work unless your trained or educated. Dunno whos into that really.
I recently moved to Bermuda, i was offered a very well paying job, and no rent housing i couldn’t pass it up!
I am not much for politics but,I do live a day to day life. My family had to pack up and leave our homes, family and friends to move out west. Why you ask, for the big money,,, the fast life,,, to pay less taxes,,, to pay less for food, heating, gas,,, to be able to put out 5 job aplications and have 5 jobs by the end of the day,,, NOT… To just simply be able to work and bring home enough money to pay the bills at the end of the week. ..
its time the ndp step in and give a 300,000 dollar grant for steel toed boots then nobody would be sitting around
That’s right. The weak peasants flee in pursuit of their precious ‘money’ and ‘benefits’. The fewer surfs staking claim throughout the Valley – the more fluid my empire expands. MUHAHAHA.
There isn’t enough well paying jobs to encourage people in general, not just the young, to stay.
I left NS in 95 because there was no jobs then, and when I came back in 2005 there weren’t anymore to be had. I stayed around and tried my hand at building my own company. By 2010 we had 8 employees but a rough patch, I met with the local RDA, NOA, and ACOA to see what could be done in terms of assistance to help keep going until we tried to figure out how to change course – their advice was to fire my team and outsource their jobs to India. I got up and walked out of the meeting with that.
As far as I can tell the NS government is only interested in helping out the Call Centres that make a big splash and get photos on the front page of the chronicle hearld, the rest be dammed.
The few programs they do have in place, they hide the information so well you need to be a detective to find.
i am sure it was not your intent but this article is making even more people decide to leave nova scotia, i am seeing it every where, and to be honest i agree with them, i grow tired of the insane taxes, no reason doubled housing cost and property taxes,no good jobs.this place is the joke of canada, we may be known for our kindness but it seems the federal government uses that to take advantages of us,,,and no one says a word,,bye bye nova scotia
I no me and at least 30 of my friends ft at once. The problem is jobs, Noone pays over time, and everyone pays dirt. Allow the oil and gas and you see everyone come home. Everyone is batching about it, but, you don’t see ppl bitch about there houses getting heated in winter nor gas to drive there vehicles, it’s gotta come from some were. Allow it or don’t use it and become the poorest economy. Ya, let’s let in a bunch more image ants so the government can support them and make us even more poor. That’s there other problem. Rant over.
Halifax is not a dump. NS is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada. I have been all over Canada and the only province that can compare to the Maritimes is BC, not Alberta! As for young educated people leaving the province, why would they stay? Extremely frustrating for university kids to get jobs, pay is not competive with the rest of Canada, taxes are high along with every other kind of tax. As for the cost of living, every province has its pros and cons. Gas might be cheap here in the west but you use three times more with driving and heating the vehicle. Electricity and heat are cheaper but the winters are longer and colder, which you will end up paying more to heat your house. Food is more expensive, but you pay less tax on your food. Everything works out to be about the same province to province with regards to the cost of living.
The only exception with Nova Scotia is that the government is not doing anything to keep young professionals. NS is not going to attract people because of “free child care” and the rest of the crap you mention David, come on that is a load of crap David Fleming! It is the “MONEY” that will attract and keep people. People can live with taxes as long as they make a decent pay check compared with the rest of Canada. Taxes will always be high in a small province with not many high end resources, especially when you have the most politicians per province. NS needs to create jobs and invest in business, resources and the labour trades and at the same time get rid of half of the useless politicians.
MacLeod….Out!
Nova Scotia should hire Kevin O’Leary to run the province!
Readers might also find this article in Atlantic Cities interesting: “Why Some Communities Foster More Entrepreneurs Than Others” http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-…
One solution might be to merge the four tiny Maritime provinces into one relatively large one. This would get rid of a lot of politicians and create a province large enough to be able to exercise some kind of clout attracting and keeping business. On the other hand, not every spot on earth has to be inhabited. One option might be to just accept the fact that with the fishery gone, Nova Scotia has no natural industry, and can just enjoy becoming an uninhabited part of nature once again.
Nova Scotia has a lot going for it. The challenge as you mentioned, David, is generating a vibrant and strong demographic of young professionals. They will help pay the taxes but more importantly provide the innovation that puts the entire province back on the map. While there are many ways to achieve this – I don’t believe social services such as child-care and transportation are the answer to that. It’s a bit of a chicken and the egg because those services will help keep people in the city once they’re there, however, it won’t bring them in droves. Ultimately, money will. That’s why Alberta added 50,000 Canadians in one year alone.
The goal needs to be getting people there to begin with and then using those generated tax dollars to keep them there. My understanding is the government could use some leaning, especially with the decreasing population. Attracting business is another issue altogether and I don’t think low taxes is the best way to achieve that. Make Halifax the next Waterloo – a city of innovation that at one point hosted the world’s most successful mobile business, however, failure to adapt has since lead to its demise. The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is world-renowned and contributes greatly to Waterloo’s reputation as having the highest IQ in the country. Give Dalhousie the talent it needs to become an epicentre for excellence which will naturally bolster R&D and in turn generate world-class businesses that young professionals will want to work for.
You can make Nova Scotia a great place for those who live there but it won’t necessarily attract the young professionals you want. You can lure entrepreneurs and fuel artists ’til the cows come home but it won’t be the foundation of world class business and young professionals the province needs to be competitive. The biggest problem I see is that “between 2006 and 2012, those over the age of 45 absorbed all of the net employment growth in the city.” Sounds like an old boys club… and the only way to fix that is with new R&D fuelled business attracting young talent.
– Melon head out!
I moved to NS from the UK over two years ago with my wife, with the intention of having a slower pace of life and starting a family, with the recognised cost of career limitation and lower overall economic well-being. We both had above average paying jobs in the UK and have always been careful with money. We were attracted here by the friendliness of the people, the fresh air and open spaces and the fact that the Provincial Government seemed to have a real keen attitude to getting people to come here and forecast the availability of skilled jobs. We also looked (foolishly) at the overall financial statistics, demographics and raw materials outlook for Canada as a whole before making our decision.
Having only recently been able to navigate the snake pit of Federal Immigration and being legislatively forced to not work for approximately 8 months and having been through 4 menial jobs in this time (two I was constructively dismissed from, one was excellent but only part time and the last one I was fired from only recently – right before Christmas, nice – without a reason being given) we are now suffering financially as bad as when we were students. We didn’t come here to get rich, but we’re both postgraduate educated, don’t mind about getting our hands dirty in manual jobs and certainly didn’t expect to be poor. Our carefully accumulated pre-immigration savings are gone, we haven’t been able to pay in to a pension, RRSP or RESP since we arrived (unlike our entire previous European careers), and we’re the owners of a house that we know we can’t sell in such a dead market.
What I’m saying is that, coming as an outsider, with a fresh perspective and high hopes, I am not surprised that people who are economically active are leaving in droves. I have met dozens of Canadians, British, Dutch Germans and even a few Americans who have come to NS with an entrepreneurial spirit only to struggle for years, see their savings dry up and some have subsequently gone “home”. I expect more will in the New Year. The simple fact is, while Nova Scotians as a people tend to be friendly, helpful, easy going, affable and family oriented, the economics of being here don’t represent this. Taxes are high, wages are low because employers know there aren’t many jobs here and the cost of living is high (prices for everyday items and groceries seem outrageous to us). Workplace attitudes and practices, especially with regard to safety and efficiency are so out of date compared to Europe and the US I struggle to see how businesses can operate – the low wages and the fact that so many people here are Government employees I guess! – without going bust. Coming from the UK, where union power was heavily suppressed in the late 1970’s and early ’80’s, I find such anachronistic practices here really surprising. On top of that, I have been utterly amazed by the fact that NONE of my qualifications are recognised here in Canada, not one. When trying desperately to get a job worth a damn and presenting my credentials I’ve been told time and again to go back to school, to relearn what I already know how to do!
Infrastructure is something too which really stands out too. In Nova Scotia, outside of HRM it is woeful, and I would describe HRM as adequate, barely. That said, hospitals seem pretty good, but we were lucky to get registered with a doctor, and have to travel 45 minutes each way on a majjor highway to get there. Paying for services be they water, sewage, electricity and even Internet and TV seem really expensive to us too, and cell phone charges are ludicruous (paying for incoming calls, who the hell has to do that any more!?!?).
All of this said, I will be starting a new career next year after some kind Nova Scotians recognised something in me and sponsored me to get some additional training. I can’t say many others will be so fortunate, and I hope that this works for me and my wife, or we’ll be heading west. I have several friends in Calgary who have been urging me to join the tide since we got here. I understand that a low population means a smaller and slower market, but there needs to be some encouragement to get economically active people to come and stay here – bringing much needed capital and new idea, or Nova Scotia is going to hollow out completely and collapse in on itself.
Hi! Young professional who moved to Nova Scotia in 2013 here. From Arizona.
The problem, as far as I can tell, isn’t the lack of available opportunities, but the perception that there’s a lack. Programmers / young tech-industry folks often get recruitment opportunities from all over, but I have to say that Nova Scotia had very rarely come up for opportunities on linkedin or other job boards. However, the moment I changed my twitter/linkedin profiles to show my location in Halifax, the opportunities started pouring in.
Maybe the problem is that the private sector is not actively looking to bring people in from elsewhere?
Halifax is a beautiful city, however after living in Halifax for over 8 years, I can safely conclude that its a rip-off. Dalhousie is one of the most expensive universities in Canada, you are taxed 15% on everything you buy, and taxed around 30-40% of your salary, that is to say if you are lucky landing a job. Halifax is small, expensive, unaffordable, and no job opportunities (its that simple). There is no surprise that people are leaving Halifax to move to Calgary where you pay less tax and can have descent job.
Interesting that a lot of the white collar people posting here seem to have jobs and be optimistic, albeit with thoughtful criticisms and suggestions.
Whereas the “THIS PLACE IS A DYING HELLHOLE” rants are coming from angry, barely literate dudes with pictures of rifles and jacked-up pickups as their avatars. Alberta’s boom won’t last forever guys, so really, don’t get too used to the freaky high incomes and super-low taxes (unmatched not only in NS, but anywhere else in Canada). No boom lasts forever, certainly no resource boom. And the new world of work in North America will require a whole different skillset, more like what’s outlined in the article above. If you think yr gonna make 100k a year to drive a truck forever–forget it.
Now, go ahead and vote this down, angry fellas!
One big issue for NS, is the horrific inaccessibility for people with disabilities, both in the physicial sense & in terms of finding a job & a place to live..
There are a few good places to live, but rent is stupidly high, or your forced to live in a fire trap with a slumlord..
Don’t even try getting around the province if your multiply disabled..
The NDP in their stupidty allowed acadian to leave, Acadian had wheelchair accessible buses… Nope. They allowed the busting of the union & allowed a third rate bus service come in, maritime bus, who have lied & b.s’ d disabled maritimers for well over a year!! They have no wheelchair accessible buses & are allowed to hold disabled people hostage to via rail.. The ONLY option.. Yet they KNEW that disabled people here dont know how to fight for their rights!!
Halifax is very inaccessible itself. Metrotransit love to talk about their new buses, but what’s a bus without accessible busstops!!
85% of buses are accessible, BUT ONLY 55% of bus stops are accessible.. Wtf?
Also vast parts of the hrm are without sidewalks!!! I’m surprised more disabled people are not getting hit!!
Theres a lot more that I could attest to, but my hands are sore from trying to type on a tiny smartphone..
We lived in hrm for 16 months..
My health went downhill so bad we were forced to move back to Ontario to my hometown.. But my heart didn’t come with me, its still in the DARKSIDE, riding the ferries..
I love Nova Scotia. I grew up there, went to university there (Dalhousie which is super expensive!), and at one point wanted to live there forever. But now my husband and I are in Manitoba and the reason is better job security, better pension, better health benefits. Gas is way cheaper in Manitoba, electricity is way cheaper in Manitoba, taxes are cheaper in Manitoba, housing costs is reasonable in Manitoba. Do I miss NS? Absolutely! Do I want to live in NS? Absolutely! I miss the ocean scenery and family and friends and Halifax which is a great city and the Annapolis Valley filled with amazing local produce, etc. But I like having financial stability and a safe financial future more and the reality is this is much more attainable in the west. My husband and I are well educated 30 somethings who love NS and it breaks our hearts to turn on the NS news and see more jobs being cut and cost of living rising, and general financial doom and gloom. At the very least in 18 years when we hit retirement we will move back home to NS, but until then the west is the best for us financially. I really wish we could return to NS sooner, but I just can’t see it happening.
my parents moved to Nova Scotia when i was 12 yrs. old i worked there, got married, raised 3 children, etc. my dad died, i got divorced, my mom remarried n moved to FL. when my step-Dad got sick they needed looking after my children were not living at home n they needed my help, so down i came well they r both gone now n tho i became a canadian citizen n retained my american citizenship, canada has taken my canadian citizenship because while looking after my parents i evidently was supposed to go back every once in a while for so long to maintain my canadian citizenship, this i did not kno, however it is too late now. i now reside in FL. i have no rights as an american like medicare or medicade because i did not work here, no medical from canada cause i am evidently no longer canadian so u want ppl to move there???? i’m sure the ppl u give grants to to buy stores n put pizza places in n what not that get tax breaks for 7 yrs, n they give it to their offspring for 7 yrs. again tax free would just love to move in on your country, n take away christmas n halloween n n e other holiday they take offense to. me i’ll just sit here on my dumb ass n be thankful that my kids r some of the ones that moved out of the life sucking place that Nova Scotia has turned into. it was actually still is one f th most beautiful places to c, it’s just so damn poor n it is sucking the life out of the ppl that try to make a living there.
My wife and I moved to Halifax from Montreal this year after we completed our masters degrees. We’re in our mid-20s and we love it here… glad we payed a little more to live downtown. Both of us work as freelancers in the arts sector and there are organizations like CEED, Fusion Halifax and others doing great work to help attract and retain young people like us. To those building businesses and careers here, patience and hard work will pay off.
My wife and I moved to BC over a year ago because there was no chance of starting a career in her profession without moving to a rural setting for 3mo government contracts in hopes you land a permanent position. With a family and my career to also think about, moving around like such is not in the cards. We are in our early 30’s, and family and friends are all there. However, since moving to BC it is WAY more affordable. Utilities are more than 50% less, urban infrastructure is proactive and well planned out, and honestly an incredibly beautiful province. Yeah you are close to the ocean in Nova Scotia, but living an unaffordable life to look at a body of water is pretty meaningless really. We are 4 hours from the coast, and live in the Okanagan. This year we went to the beach on Easter weekend because it was 31 degrees, it does not get extreme weather, has 4 seasons, and you can enjoy an outdoor lifestyle just by living here. It has no industry so unless you have jobs its not somewhere I recommend moving, but HEY if you are a highly educated individual and working a minimum wage job ya might as well come enjoy life vs stress over it. Halifax by Design… you can certainly take credit for the 4700+ people moving away, and for the increasing business developments moving out of the city core!!! Such a dysfunctional city 🙁
Oh yeah… employers of the private sector in NS want you work you to the bone and expect you to do it for peanuts. If you are lucky to score a government job, then you can sit on your ass and fuck the dog until you retire because the unions force you to be compliant and avoid being proactive or go the extra mile. Probably why everything takes an eternity to get done around there 🙂
I’m surprised to read many of these comments – especially the ones about the cost of living. I moved here from Toronto a year ago. I’m retired and live on pension. I have a great apartment right in downtown Toronto and pay just a bit more than half the rent I was paying in TO. I allow myself $150.00 a month for food – I don’t skimp and don’t shop for food bargains. I can walk everywhere I want to go so my transportation expenses are almost non-existent. I do understand the problem with lack of jobs, but hopefully that is something that entrepreneurs and the new government can work out together. For me, moving to Halifax was a great decision.
Great ideas, but given that the City has been less impacted than the smaller regions of the Province, I’d say that’s not where the solution lies.
This article hit the nail on the head! To bad the old grey haired white guys who are running this province into the ground wouldn’t take a peak. Me and my 7 month old pregnant wife are currently deciding on which province west of here to move to and raise our child. She is a RN and I am a supposed ‘skilled tradesman’ (though my co-workers would argue the skilled part). We’re blown away at the abundance of employment opportunities and CHEAP cost of living that western Canada offers young ambitious people. We both love it here but are fed up with the ‘can’t-do’ attitude. e.g -30% of our provincial budget comes from federal equalization payments from oil rich provinces but we currently have a moratorium on fracking for gas! How can we accept oil money but at the same time refuse to explore gas reserves in our own province? Weather or not your for or against fracking how does this make sense?
What do you expect, your taxed to death, no opportunity for young people and wages are way below Canadian standards. I know I was born and brought up in Nova Scotia. I tried for 5 years to find a job in my field, I had to move to Alberta to find work. I now own my own company and would never move back.
Lower taxes for new and existing companies, lower the provincial tax to stimulate spending thus creating more jobs for industry. Invest in the future such as technologies (maybe companies like Dell, Server based companies, anything) that maybe these types of companies would like to transfer or start up their companies there. Maybe with these tax breaks and incentives people would move there. I know if I could have made go there I would never have left but most people can’t.
My thoughts are simply this, everyone concerned with the future of NS needs to take a part in shaping it and can do so by contributing to The Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy …. http://onens.ca/ If you have a voice, you have a solution!
And to add a comment from an immigration perspective… I run an immigration consulting business and deal with trying to get people into Canada from outside at the sharp end. It’s a common misconception that lots of money and time needs to be spent on attracting people to Nova Scotia – whether we decide we want young people or older wealthier immigrants people are already lining up to come here by the hundreds of thousands. There really is no need to attract them. The bottleneck is the immigration process – most of them can’t get in.
To immigrate to Nova Scotia in most cases you need to have a a job offer from a Nova Scotia employer and the employer must go through a lot of red tape to be allowed to offer a job to a foreigner; or you need to already have community connections here and post-secondary education and money. A young family of 4 for example would have to have about $40,000. As a result most of the people who apply under this particular program tend to be older. Most employers despite complaining of not being able to find enough skilled people are not prepared to go through the red tape needed to hire a foreign worker. There is a sense of entitlement among many employers that there should be an abundance of skilled people on their doorstep without having to go through any red tape. This is a major problem – employers expect someone who applies for a job to already have the required visa/papers. But the government requires that an applicant must have the job offer first before they can apply for the visa they need. It’s a chicken and egg disconnect.
And contrary to popular belief there is no program that allows you to immigrate here if you start or buy a business under normal circumstances.
Getting into Canada generally is much harder than people realize and Nova Scotia is no exception. Take for example an applicant who is a young and highly educated engineer from Dubai who wanted to move here. Before applying to move his young family here he wanted to visit to see what Halifax was really like. He applied for a visitor visa to visit and it was promptly refused. Citizenship Immigration Canada did not believe he would return at the end of his visit and so they refused to issue a visa to allow him to visit. Not surprisingly he does not plan to move to Halifax any longer!
I know being a unskilled worker and trying to live in NS is depressing
Especially when you see self serving politions along with high taxes and no one with the buisness sence to run the province
Thats why myself and alot other peoples have gone west, we are tired of waiting for change
7 yrs ago i was making 14.70hr now i clear 140.000 a year being unskilled
There is optimism here and change is possible and dose happen
There are six super redevelopment agencies in this province under the umbrella group Nova Scotia Association of Redevelopment Agencies. At one time there was only ACOA, created in 1986 by the federal government to provide Financial assistance to fledgling businesses in economically depressed areas of Atlantic Canada . Since these agencies have been created it seems that they have been a creator of very lucrative, high paying jobs for friends and cronies of politicians. Where funding was suppose to be used mainly for job creation, it seems that financial assistance has been diverted for things like golf courses, yacht squadrons, paper mill bailouts, fish farms, Michelin, LED Roadway and corporate welfare for companies like the Irvings. The list is long. Billions have been paid out in this manner causing a $15,000,000,000.00 provincial debt that taxpayers and their grandchildren will be paying into infamy. Taxes are through the roof, as a result and the jobless rate is among the highest in Canada. More jobs will be lost as the provincial government attempts to save money and reduce the provincial debt. More young people will be forced to leave the province and round and round we go. Until there a forensic audit done on the development agencies and we get a handle on where the money is being spent we can expect to go further into debt, higher taxes and continued job losses. On top of all this doom and gloom, as pensioners continue to lose ground in their meagre cost of living raises, more older people are continuing to work in order to subsidize their pensions making it difficult for younger people to become gainfully employed. I wish the young people luck in finding jobs in this province.
Our natural resources,fish,forest and farm,ancient old tools to work with and raise our families and create spin off jobs have been manipulated right out from underneath of our communities by Gov.enabling and financing big companies to own these resources.
In the fishery and farming quota was introduced,ground fish,scallop,herring,milk,eggs and more,supposedly for conservation.
In the fishery (IQs) individual quotas,an “allocation” of fish that was “given” to the (license holder) to catch,this was supposed to slow the fishery down as it was evident to everyone that the stocks were being overfished and dewindeling.
As I said I am not a farmer,I assume that there was too many eggs and milk on the market so as a slowing down tool,quota was introduced and that should have stopped over fishing and egg and milk market glutting.
It all sounded good to the average ear,THEN (ITQs) individual transferrable quotas in the fishery were introduced,no public input!
Everyone business minded person and company knew that the fishery was up for sale and that sooner or later the ITQ holders would sell “their” quota,the same in the farming business and I am not sure how the big companies acquired all of the forest.
I just know that the Irvings bought out a local mill years ago and went very big for a few years then closed it down putting everyone out of work!
These people and their investors that now own our natural resources are cutting costs in every corner to be more profitable! IE,from Canso to Digby there were several communities with fleets of offshore scallop boats,approx 120 boats with 15 to 20 men crew,today there are 15 to 20 boats owned by a few companies catching MORE scallop than the 100+ boats before quota was introduced!
The same in the farming industry,I think!
I do know that like in the fishery if a young man that wants to farm,he has to buy “quota” from someone else before he can buy his chickens or cows.
YES a young fisherman use to build a boat, go out fishing,catch fish and bring them ashore and sell them,a young farmer use build a barn buy chicken,cows and sell his eggs and milk,pay his expenses and raise his family!
Today that is impossible under the quota system.
Quotas have to be abolished and the right to fish and farm freely has to be returned to our young people!
Your article brings food for thought. We pay well above the national average on our taxes. Our healthcare wait times are one of the longest in the country. Housing prices have soared in Halifax. Why would people choose to live here? Perhaps it’s for our brilliant universities, our beauty, our clean air and water, our creative and artistic communities, our colourful sense of humour, our teachers who actually inspire students, our supportive business community, our understanding of what being a neighbour really means. I’ve lived in other places but I choose to live in my seaside community. I agree that we need to work together to provide a better work environment and to address other issues such as taxation. That all starts with involvement and voters voice. Be vocal, contact your representatives and voice your solutions.
I was offered a job in NS 23 yrs ago…employer said it was like me winning a lottery – I say fair employment should not have to be a gamble, but a given.
I applied for another job in NS 2 yrs ago and the employer said I would have to accept Maritime wages – I say no, I want a fair wage to work anywhere in Canada.
NS employers may have to rethink recruitment strategies.
You think the mainland is bad try coming from Cape Breton….pretty much no one stays, hell, i moved to dartmouth, then back home then calgary, then back home with my family and was drowning so i came back to dartmouth…however, it was only supposed to be temporary until going to calgary with my husband and oldest son.
Halifax is getting ridiculously expensive! No wonder everybody is looking to move out! Rent is extremely expensive, food is extremely expensive and all life necessities and basic needs. There is no jobs for the educated people that spent years and money to study to find a job. Good luck NS!
I left back in 1998 from cape Breton and will never live there again because they do not provide a chance to make a life And they make it hard to get he work that we can make a living. Nova Scotia really needs to make something for the young people to start wanting to stay there again. I left my family years ago never got to see my brothers and sisters grow up or nephews and nieces So i guess we get use to it being away from are family’s and friends so we can make a living. I live in sask it’s a friendly province.
AlfredJingle- I loved here from Toronto 6.5 years ago. I a m so glad I did. I was not treated as an outsider with funny stears and such. But maybe that is because I am a Christian who sought out a church soon after arriving. Although I go to a different church now, some of my best friends I met here (at my current church). I find people friendlier here. When I was in college and had to go to an interview for my placement and got lost, I panicked. It wasn’t until I was in tears that someone helped me. In the first few months of living in Halifax, I had a job interview. I went downtown to the somewhat general area where it was, but felt lost. VERY soon after this occurred, someone noticed and asked if I was lost. How they knew I havve no idea, as I was not cryign or anything.
How about if Nova Scotians start supporting those companies by purchasing their products regardless if they are foreign owned or not as long as they employ Nova Scotians and pay decent wages and benefits. Then, as the demand for their product increases so does the opportunity to expand production and therefore hire more people. I see people sucking on a Heiniken beer or Molson Coors which is not produced or packaged here. They should be drinking Olands, Keiths and the like as Oland brewery employs 200 people that pay very good wages and benefits. Same goes for Michelin tire, Stanfields or IBM. I have Michelin tires on my car and Keiths and Bud in the fridge and standfields briefs on my ass. They all make great products! What I find disturbing is that some restaurants/bars do not carry Olands/Labatts products. How ridiculous is that yet the bar/Pub/ restaurant owners want Oland employees to eat and drink at their bar/ restaurants. How about showing love and support for these companies who actually pay a decent wage and contribute in a big way to many organizations, charities and to our communities. This is what’s wrong with Halifax/ province. People not willing to support businesses that have been here for a very long time. Think twice before you drink a Molson Coors or Heiniken or purchase underware or tires. We get a bigger benefit by drinking Oland brewery products as they employ many more Nova Scotians who purchase big ticket items, pay big taxes that go into government coffers that are spent to shore up Health, Education and social programs and the like. Think about the bigger picture/ benefits gained. We need more of these manufacturing companies that creates both direct and indirect employment. Stop buying products made in China or Bangledesh!! I love my province; born and raised here… I and many others want to stop this outward migration of our youth and young families. High taxes. electricity, food costs, etc. are making it difficult for all families and for all businesses to live and flourish here. Something has got to give… This nonsense has got to stop!
As a native Nova Scotian, and having experienced living in another part of our country for an extended amount of time, I say that Nova Scotia is a nice place to visit but I can’t afford to live here. NSPI rates are ridiculously high for a sub standard service, some groceries are over inflated. Milk prices alone are $3.00 (4 liters) more than what I am used to. Gas is way too expensive for no apparent reason.
I recently spent two weeks in Hamilton, Ontario. While visiting there I went to the grocery store with my wife. We bought 3 bags worth of groceries and it came to about $20.00 cheaper than we would have paid here in N.S. We did the comparison right there in the store… What cost us $30.00 would have cost us $50.00 here at least…
Face it folks, you/we have been raped by the system here way too long. Your dollar goes further in other parts of Canada on a daily basis.
Forget whatever news about cost of living that you are being fed… I lived there and know first hand that you can’t base the cost of living on the price of a house in downtown Toronto.
Wake up Nova Scotia!!! It’s time to ask the questions that make people and corporations more accountable to us… The end user!
…And they wonder why all the young people are leaving? There is a better life in Canada, just not here…
I left Nova Scotia (Digby) over 5 years ago for Alberta !
Best annual income was $35K (working for JD Irving) with lots of over time!Average was $31k over 5 years! (Gross before taxes)
Best annual income in Alberta $75K ! Average over 5 years $68K (Gross before taxes)
Nova Scotia HST 15% Alberta GST 5% this makes a big difference !!!
Housing costs (Digby) $5760/yr Electricity $2640 Heat $2800/yr Total= $11,200.00
Housing costs (Ashmont Alberta) $10,800/yr Electricity $2160/yr Heat $1,800/yr Total = $14,760.00
Total cost difference between Alberta & Nova Scotia is $3,560.00 a year more in Alberta.
Total income difference between Alberta & Nova Scotia (on average) $37K a year more in Alberta!!!
Total cost of living & income difference is $33,440/yr (+) !!!
I love Nova Scotia & miss it, but with more then double the income, I’m staying in Alberta !
In 2011 I sent an email to a department of the city of Halifax that was in my field of study. I offered to volunteer several days a week to gain some experience, I didn’t even get a response. I’ve now been in Toronto for almost 2 years working a great job in my field, sorry NS…
To anybody considering moving to the prairies from the East Coast; It’s not as good as it sounds. The money is bad, I moved from NS over a year ago, and I still haven’t managed to save enough money to move back home. The cost of living out here is outrageous. Rent is off the charts, home heating (which you need 10 months of the year up here) is expensive, and they don’t plow the roads; thus making it impossible to go without winter tires. Also, that East Coast lifestyle, where you can go outside pretty much every day of the year, well say goodbye to that. Temperatures in November (AKA Fall) dip down to minus 40. Another thing to consider before moving out here; People (well, a lot of them) are openly racist up here.
I was born and raised in Sydney, NS and from the age of 16 knew I wanted something more for myself. I have been living in Fort McMurray now for 6 years. Although it lacks the beauty of the Maritime’s and has very long harsh winters I must say I enjoy it here. I would love to move home and start a family and to be close to my family again but until there are more opportunities and taxes are lowered I don’t see a point. Honestly I don’t understand how people in Cape Breton can afford to live because of the harsh taxes they pay and the price of food and gas. I wish things would improve back home but they only seem to improve life for the elderly. Until things change I will proudly stay an Albertan but as the song goes ” the home of our hearts Cape Breton” I will always miss home.
I am a new business owner in Lunenburg, opened up a health & fitness studio, and I want to remain here but I’m already having thoughts of moving elsewhere. I have so many ideas but not enough population to support my natural entrepreneurial state of being. I feel like I’m wasting my talent, that maybe there is more opportunity elsewhere. I struggle with this thought as I have lived in Riverport all my life and deeply connected to my community but I’m so limited. I’m either juggling several jobs at once or constantly working overtime on one just to make ends meet, barely. Thank you for your message. Here’s hoping for change in the near future.
Why would I invest into NS let alone move there – after the Parsons case – I saw that devaluation of values and Harperization of life – people with entitlement and a strong affinity towards the neoliberal process . I don’t mind the latter two as long as people feel entitled to responsibility and neoliberalism negates corrupt or ineffective institutions… BUT I am ANNOYED about the political debates I read about – I am annoyed about the social fabric being so exclusive… I wonder if Cape Breton should be a distinct province – in this Post-Rita world, Cape Breton offers us more from a cultural and institutional perspective.
Well, this is yet another Halifax centred solution to a provincial problem. And it basically is just asking for more public money to be wasted on Halifax and it’s relatively spoiled citizenry. You did mention jobs and the idea of that maybe NS should become the easiest province to become and entrepreneur in (I hope you meant deregulation and easing of government fees and taxes and not more public money and grants to be wasted on flopping coffee houses and head shops) and that’s admirable. But I think you’re putting the cart before the horse when you mention improving Halifax. Those other great cities you mentioned are great because they have industry, AROUND them. Not just within their city, but their entire province or state. San Francisco is not great because the art community, the BART and the Golden Gate Bridge. it is great because the oil, produce and film industries in the surrounding communities allow it to grow to such greatness. A capital city is a reflection of how well it’s state or province is doing, not the other way around. The public transit idea is nice and probably needed but would roughly amount to putting silk drapes in a flop house. To iterate – Infrastructure does not attract people – jobs do. Government does not create jobs, industry does. Government does also not pay for transit, municipal taxes do. And when the government doesn’t have it they go to the Feds with their hand out and multinationals with sweetheart deals to help subsidize this mess and get screwed over and over again. To wit, stop electing teachers and community organizers to do the jobs of business people and lawyers. And maybe, just maybe things will return to some sort of natural order, common sense and personal responsibility will become commonplace in Nova Scotia culture again, and God and Darwin willing, the economy will turn around.
Since it doesn’t look as if Quebec is going to do Nova Scotia a favor, Nova Scotians will have to work within the system. However, working with in the system does have certain advantages, such as very large ship building contracts from the feds.
The native people in Canada often categorize their history as before and after contact with the Whites. Let’s look at Nova Scotia’s history like that.
Before contact with Canada, Nova Scotia had a thriving coastal trade as far south as the Caribbean that was built on breaking bulk in Halifax. Rails from Sydney were transported to Africa and India on wind powered ships. There were hundreds of small industries like Sunlight soap and Lowney’s chocolate that has substantial payrolls.
After contact, high Canadian exports tariffs killed the coast trade and shippers were obliged to rely on meager pickings from servicing ice bound Montreal and Toronto. Then the Upper and Lower Canadians started out transferring. Steel mills in Hamilton stripped Sydney of skilled labor and contracts. Sherbrook took Lowney’s and more recently, Longueil took the Canso muffler factory.
What could Nova’s do to bring about a Restoration and stem the population drain? Other locations have fought back against similar conditions by producing heavily branded, specialty goods. Look at: Briar pipes, Scotch, Irish Cream, Mont Blanc, Ferrari, Egyptian cotton and Russian caviar.
Cheers, JL
At one time, people in Nova Scotia were very resilient and, at the same time, entrepreneurial in nature.
This has changed over the years.
We have all heard our parents say….”get an education so that you can get a good government job”….or have heard the cry “the government must do something”. Both of these attitudes have contributed to our decline.
Of course our tax situation, our red tape burden, our aging population, our low GDP and our slow technological adaptation all contributed as well.
We need to become more entrepreneurial, we need to understand economic and community development and what is required for small business to succeed.
With regret many agencies who are supposed to be stimulating business are failing, because they do not understand business fundamentals.
This current government has a chance to exhibit leadership and implement strategies to turn the province around.
I moved home to n.s. after 10 years in b.c. I lasted two years and moved back to b.c. would have left sooner but had to sell my dream home in the valley. N.s. is a run down overtaxed expensive place to live with not much to offer. I still miss it because its home but I will never move back.I could go on but no I’m over it.
Lack of jobs + crushing student debt is a tough combo, but here are two easy suggestions to give Halifax a better vibe:
1) scrap the NSLC (think of Montreal, all you scaredy-cats)
2) scrap the bike helmet law (umm also think of Montreal)
I have lived in Alberta for 2 years and there is no way I would ever consider moving home to work unless they match the Alberta pay rates. I’m 22 years old and a welder, I can work anywhere’s in the world and Nova Scotia would be at the bottom of my list. I plan to eventually move back to Cape Breton, after I retire and that would only be seasonal. Why stay in a place where it is a struggle to get by. There is so much more opportunity out here even for the smallest of jobs.
Every time you turn around down there, there’s someone new leaving for a big job in the Mac, or an office job in the cities of Alberta. I keep getting told by friends to move home work at the ship yards and live in Halifax. My answer to them is not going to happen. I can’t stand Halifax to visit, let alone live. I live in Fort McMurray which according to a lot of people it is fort crack, it’s all crack heads, rig pigs, gold diggers and so on. To be honest I would rather live in this town which has become more family oriented in the past 2 years then I will ever see in Halifax.
Where I work they offer flights to about anywhere on a 14/7 rotation. You always get asked where you’re from when you meet new people at a job, and when I say Cape Breton but live in Fort McMurray I get the look of why would you ever move there when you lived in Cape Breton. Especially when there are flights every 2 weeks back home. My reason is; who or what is left in Nova Scotia, especially Cape Breton? I have more family and friends in Fort McMurray then in Nova Scotia right now.
I don’t know all about politics, I get enough headaches being a woman working with men all the time as it is. From what I read on other people’s posts though it’s a huge problem down there. Those politicians need to realize that their province is dying and they better start doing something about it. I love being able to say I grew up in Cape Breton; it obviously helped me be the person I am today. However, now my life is in Alberta and it will be until my career is done with and my family is raised.
Alberta is the land of opportunity; Nova Scotia is a sinking ship.
I just found out I landed a job in Toronto, comes with a $12,000/year bump in pay, benefits and relocation assistance. I stuck it out here for 7 years after coming home to go to school, even started my own company for the last year and a half but enough is enough and I have to face reality that I’ll never get ahead if I keep spinning my wheels here. It will be a fun place to visit, the scenery is pretty nice around here.
This province needs jobs, if you can find a good job, and can get it elsewhere do it, dont depend on NS to provide it. Because its just not there most of the time and if it is, theres very few openings. This article so far out to lunch, services and expensive transport are not the ways to attract young people. You need jobs! Theres just not enough of them to go around here in NS
How to attract real business? Too much government subsidies, we see those jobs go out the window like RIM, and some of those other call centres. All going under.
Its easier said than done. Need the older generation to retire and open up positions. But we know that Canadians are in financial ruins, and are too laden with debt and some forced to work longer because they have to support their children now. Some of them mismanaged their funds and forced to work now.
I’ll come back when the job do. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
*jobs
Congratulations to David Fleming for making the Wall of Shame at Growth Bias Busted http://www.growthbiasbusted.org/entry/saying-farewell-to-nova-scotia-for-a-reason
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I know of at least one NS company importing foreign labor rather than hiring native Nova Scotians. In fact, I was displaced by one. Don’t see much opportunity in my field, so packed up and left. 360.twizz AT gmail if anybody is interested to hear more.
@ pigeon
You are wrong. It’s true income tax or consumption tax does not equate to a lower median income in comparisson to other cities. But when you factor in inflation (Nslc raises prices twice a year) as well as the cost of services and property tax our NET income is much lower. The situation is exasperated by the disproportionately high income tax on the middle earners in this province. Central economic planning does not work. Highly progressive taxation is, as we are seeing now, a recipe for depopulation.
I moved to Nova Scotia from England 11 years ago. I took over an existing tourism business and developed it in a rural area. Over time it has built up very slowly but is sustainable, just. I have taken outside work to make things pay. I have managed to open a second business in the same area and this is taking up the difference in income so I do not have to work outside my own businesses. Nova Scotia is not a business friendly province, it is much easier to succeed outside of the province. I belong to local chambers of commerce and have worked with the community to try and improve matters to retain our young workers.
Nova Scotian’s need to be harder on their government to introduce factors in the environment that will fuel the development of industry and jobs. It needs to react now before the population is unrecoverable. It is not all the governments responsibility but others can not make things happen without a strong catalyst and this has to come from the most influential economic factor which is normally the right environment.
I have not given up with Nova Scotia, I am not a native Nova Scotian but I see so much this province has to offer. We just need to get our voice back and make it happen. After all we can not all leave and cut the province away from Canada so lets fix it.
Just found out my son is leaving for Alberta. My son went to visit his father and had a job in two days. There isn’t too much left here for me in Nova Scotia.
I asked the author, Dave Fleming, why he included a line about government being transparent and hackable as part of a strategy to attract people to Nova Scotia. His long-form answer is here:
http://www.cpsrenewal.ca/2014/02/hackable-government.html
I don’t want to lead this province, i don’t want to be the premier of this province. But if i ever were the premier of this province, i promise that i will do it for free. I see too many people too hard up in this province, and i could not in good conscience accept any wage that would take away from the good folks of this province. I don’t want to lead, and you’ll have to force me to do it, but if you ever insist that i do that duty; i would. I’d guarantee you’ll see changes like never before, and the only people leaving this province would be the career politicians. Quite frankly, they’d hate me, they’d call me a tyrant, a traitor, and just about every other name you can think of. But hey: what goes around comes around.
The only thing i would ask in return is that you provide me with basic room and board in the poorest section of the city, with a small living allowance for food/internet/power/transportation. The only condition i have is that you vote to kick me out at the first sign of trouble, and that i would only have enough in me to do this for 4 years max. When i’m done i’m done: you can keep the pension. Then i’ll try to find a job based on what i did, like everyone else.
Thank you.
‘When the last tree is cut and river poisoned only then will you realize you cannot eat money’ ~ Tecumseh
The rocky mountains and rolling foothills of Alberta are my church and Zen. The inner peace and happiness those places bring my soul are slowly being replaced with clear cuts and oil leases. I weep with my ancestors each visit as a bit more of the wilderness out west disappears… forever.
Agreed its harder to carve out a living here in NS, yet careful what you wish for as profit has a cost.
I was born and raised in Nova Scotia. After high school I left to go out west to find some work. I missed home very bad and came back several times hoping I could “make things work”, but it never did. I went to college and then University to improve my chances, and came back yet again to “try agian”. Nothing worked,because of variuos facts. The lady from England is correct, N.S. is not a business friendly province. People there may seem friendly, but when it comes to getting ahead only “their family matters”. You must belong to certain families in N.S.. and even then its a battle within those familes. Now with my own family “out west as they say back home”, I visit N.S. from time to time, but I’m glad i’m not raising my children there. There is little future for my home province of Nova Scotia, and it will take a mircle to change that cycle.
Why just Halifax ?
I am a young mother of three and in the city is the last place I’d want to raise my kids- having a large private yard, having animals, growing a garden are things we as a family refuse to trade in.
I’m from Shelburne county and we have nothing here- living from pay to pay is an understatement.
We have went to Alberta twice and returned home for family but if our economy here continues like this we will have no choice but to leave close relatives that have no choice but to stay here.
For family’s with children three major things that would keep us here would be
1) Less expensive more flexible child care- I mean if you have two kids in daycare u mid as well stay home because u make 10$ and 8hr shift not to mention daycare hours are mon-fri 730-5 it’s hard to get a job here let alone walk into a mon-fri day job.
2) Benifits, the few jobs here that offer them don’t pay high enough wages to pay the bills let alone be able to pay the 20% not covered. Not that it matters because majority of moms either can’t get a job or it’s pointless to.
3) education choices – we have a college. You can be a cca ( which is now flooded with to many workers ) office or business administration
( which I took ) but there are no jobs for it.
Any which way I look at it I love my hometown, I love being close enough to have family dinner every Sunday, swim in the lake in the summer and have a yard ( that’s private ) that’s big enough for my kids and dog to enjoy
But no matter how much I don’t want to leave and no matter how much I don’t want to live the Alberta life….. I may have to adapt because stable income, benifits, and a healthy life eventually will take presidence over being able to enjoy my family.
I’d also like to add that in my age group 85% of them have left our hometown for Alberta and fly home only on time off or live there perminitly
well yes if you want to work there are jobs here in alberta I agree im from nova scotia and ill tell you people think they can come here and make big money don’t get me wrong it happens but there families suffer in the end money isn’t everything and the economy here is much higher to live its outrages what it cost for housing and bills and food its not cheap to live here and if I could work and my kids didn’t live here I would be home people have the idea that its awesome to move to alberta but its not what its cut out to be sure there are things for families that cost money and lots of it so you move here and get a good job you rack up bills and then like home your laid off or fired because the next nova scotia will move here and take that job its a crazy cycle and don’t get into the imigrants that are here working for peanuts and have 3 or 4 jobs to make ends meet or they have 5 families in one home and the fact that you don’t even know your neighbours oh this is the best life ever well as far as im concerned nova scotia has more to offer then here you have family and love and if you want it to work and work to do that the economy down there will grow but all these sad stories I hear all the time is sometimes coming from people who claim they want to work come out here get enough stamps for uic and then go back home until there claim runs out and then they are back here some on welfare alberta is not what it cuts out to be
I left NS for the north and do not wish to ever live there again! NS is over taxed and the lack of jobs is high too! The lack of progressive thinking in the province and Halifax is very puzzling. Every time there is talk of new structures ( ie a stadium ) a big up roar of don’t change follows! Get out of the dark ages and come into the future Halifax! Look at Winnipeg! It has transformed itself into an awesome city that people want to move. Taxes have to lower and more free enterprise has to be nourished. The old guard has to move on so progress can happen ( yes Gloria I am talking about you and your cronies).
I built a successful Industrial Control’s Company in Nova Scotia.
First you must understand the Government is not your friend
and neither is the Bank. Far from it !!
First thing to do is, learn how to cut Red Tape.
East Coast people are good people and make great customers !!
My partner and I came back to Nova Scotia after living overseas for 40+ years. Biggest mistake that we have ever made. Jobs are few and far between and what jobs there are, pay so poorly, it’s not worth getting out of bed in the morning to go to work!.
The cost of living here, the high taxes, the poor service offered in shops and businesses, the general run down appearance of most towns and cities all paint a very poor image of Nova Scotia and what it has to offer people these days. I would never start a business here as there is too much red tape and taxes would kill it at any rate, so why bother. We will stick out the summer, put the house on the market and hope we can sell it so we can move on.
Once again The Coast has all the answers. Hmmmm, I’m a hipster and love bicycles, the Arts and not showering, so that must be the solution to everything!
I am from Halifax . Left there in ’77 . This has been Nova Scotia since ALWAYS. It is a small place . No real industry to speak of. No major population centres nearby. Harsh winters. It will NEVER be San Francisco or Vancouver (where I am now) . Nova Scotia is a revolving door …leave when you are young (return during retirement) to places like Alberta , BC , Ontario for the most part business friendly provinces where there are larger cities whose demographics just by their sheer numbers provide more employment and or and natural resource industry ie BC , Alberta and Saskatchewan mining, oil , gas , potash etc which drive mega economies. Seattle has Microsoft and Boeing …”THATS” what drives their economies and the like are not coming to N.S. anytime soon no matter how many bike lanes you build . Nova Scotia as beautiful a place as it is …has always been and always will be a hand-out province (Federal transfer payments ) where the main industry is government and the call centres are subsidized . The purse strings of the province are pulled by the politicians and “old money” ie Sobeys, Irving etc. who will do their worst to stave off competition in their little serfdom. Further the population contributes to keeping themselves down by putting NDP and Liberal govts behind the wheel who are self serving and anti-business whom create revenue by taxing employers into oblivion and driving off young workers. The urban hippie mentality of building bicycle lanes, the freakin “arts” and “active public spaces” produces NOTHING. Can this writer be SERIOUS about adding gov’t provided services such as “universal, affordable child-care, attracting young families where parents want to continue careers? What if we went all-in on rapid transit and active transportation?” You need BIG economies to pay for freebies and the last time I checked that didnt include people riding bicycles thru the snow for 4 or 5 months of the year playing the violin and painting a seascape. Mr . Flemming must have been asleep during his economics classes and wide awake during “socialist studies” further sounds like he has never spent any real time outside of N.S. (working) except on the internet. I visit back home frequently and can smell the desperation every time . Years before I left they were talking about a proper highway to Yarmouth which still has not happened, also offshore gas which has taken 40 + years to get onshore ….and seems to have contributed little in trickle-down thanks to the Irvings of the world. You want employment ? Put in place development friendly laws and tax structure and attract big resource companies to start fracking and drilling or mining coal again ….. get the wheels of production turning. Anything else are Trotskyite daydreams of unionized baristas……..
I am a statistic. I left Nova Scotia in December 2013 for Alberta. I tried operating my own business in NS with little success thanks to over saturation of an unregulated market (photography). I also worked in a commercial studio doing highly technical lighting setups, food styling, product, food, corporate, and artifact photography and was offered $13.00/hr with little hope of reaching $14/hr anytime soon. If I wanted to make $13/hr I would get a job at McDonald’s. After putting out resumes for two weeks in Calgary, I landed a job making $300/day plus per diems, and with my own vehicle, $1.10/km mileage. In a month I generally drive almost 6000 km for work. I received on the job training for my work. Why would I stay in Nova Scotia and use my hard earned education to struggle my way through life on a daily basis?? Besides that, companies are shutting down and cutting jobs left right and centre. .. I.e. Michelin cutting 500 good paying jobs in Pictou County. I love Nova Scotia. I love that I am from Nova Scotia. But there is a good chance I will always be from Nova Scotia rather than in Nova Scotia.
I have decided to leave Nova Scotia and even Canada .
The reason is I have a child by a non canadian mother and I have the child here with me and been trying to bring the babies mother here as the baby misses her much. Imagration canada told us the mother could not come here as she would get attached to her baby and not want to leave.the hell with this crap I’m getting out of here! And I had chinese investers wanting to invest in a large facility here that would of made much jobs. The last I heard would take 2 more years to get a snswer on if my baby could see her mom again or not . I like nova scotia .was born here but good bye for good!
The NS goverment just took away the right to strike for health care workers….. as a new nurse with 2 degrees and well over $50,000 in dept even as a nurse my after tax pay gives me enough to make my minimum payments and rent but thats about it… I am seriously considering going west where nurses make more and have better unions working for them…..
I also left NS in 1997 to work in the USA. There were no full time nursing jobs so I took a travel position and moved on. I often consider moving back as all my family is there but the pay is no where near what I make here. I love NS and wish the economy was better.
Good riddance NS… I left after working my ass off for many years in struggle town … I am so much happier since arriving to Montreal.
People who are about progress and growth will always have to leave,,. That town( yes I say town) sucks the drive out of you.
My husband is in the Navy, I am a teacher currently on Mat leave, and we are leaving by year’s end. As soon as the house sells we are moving myself, and our three children (under the age of 7) to Ontario. He’s a Power Engineer, and will be out of the Navy by October. We’ve tried to make it here, but can’t, and it’s taken us a year to decide to leave. If you don’t think there is a problem with people leaving look at the rural areas that are more than an hour away from Halifax. Nova Scotia’s tax base is leaving, because it has shown little to no interest in keeping it here. As for those who think the data is wrong…I hope you’re right, but I fear that I am.
The best decision I made was move to Calgary from NS in 2010. I make over three times as much as I would have had I stayed. I was always underemployed and underpaid in NS. In Alberta I just keep goin up and up! Hell, even my dating life has been a lot better. I had a hell of a time finding a decent guy worth their salt to date in Halifax. In Calgary I’m surrounded by eligible bachelors!
What we need is to end the government monopoly on the economy. Regulation has crushed life in this province and overtaxation in the rural areas has forced everyone to leave. Massive external immigration will just bring people here who have no ties culturally to nova scotia. What we need are the young people to come home, and the only way to do that is to crush the government.
The other thing that needs to die is the left wing stranglehold on politics. The idea that we can tax ourselves into prosperity is a disgusting joke.
As soon as you mentioned more immigrants i cringed. There are enough unemployed Nova scotians, no need formore immigrants. All in all, im glad i left. In nova scotia, you get payed the least, you get taxed the most, and liquor is waaaaaay too expensive. And yes, those are the three things young people are looking at.
Let’s cut to the chase here, don’t bother with all that bs about making the city beautiful and rapid transit and transparent government. That’s all bs. The only people who care about that are retired people. Why do young people, like me, move to other provinces?For work! That’s it. Why would I stay in NS and work out of my field for 12 bucks an hour when I can move to another city and make 3 times that working in my field of study. You bring industry to NS you bring people. The end. Do you think people move to Fort McMurray for its beauty? Cut all the bs programs and focus on getting industry into ns and nothing else. People will follow, then taxes dollars will follow, and then you can do all the bs artsy fartsy stuff u want.
Yeah I was sick of the province catering to old farts instead of giving young people incentive to stay. Yup makes sooo much sense to cater to people who will be 6 feet under the ground within this decade…
I agree with most things said about Alberta living not being all it’s cracked up to be. We tried it and couldnt stomach the illegal housing where you cannot even speak in a regular voice without your downstairs neighbor freaking out at you and having a tantrum because the house is not meant to squish several tenants in it without proper facilities and sound proofing. You pay BC prices for a ghetto shanty. Open racism is indeed a problem there. Our experience was in Red Deer, I cannot say anything about Calgary or Edmonton or the more modern minded areas.
I also agree with what is said about Nova Scotia. We live in the Truro area, a truly horrible town filled with underage single mothers, drug addicts, alcoholics, gamblers, petty criminals, the highly uneducated (functional illiterates) and too many elderly. Town council is a nightmare that kills any all all progress that tries to rear its head. There is not even a transit service here. Finding a physician that didnt get their degree from their home printer or a cracker jack box is impossible. Never mind finding one that speaks proper, understandable english.
The worst part of the province that we are currently experiencing is the way employers treat the employees. Because they know work is hard to come by and bills need to be paid, they pay like garbage and work you to death, expecting cadillac results on a beater pay. Our employer makes the choice to close up due to weather and refuses to pay us for the day. Their choice not ours but we get penalized for it. They treat women here with extreme disrespect and pay us far less then men in the same job, often speaking inappropriately and berating and talking down to us. Anywhere else I have ever been would have resulted in legal action hands down. But we take it and get ill with stress because being hungry and homeless is not an option. The government doesnt protect workers here, they dont give a damn and side with employers who are downright evil here.
Its a shitty province to live, dont move here and make that mistake like we did. Go west or go to Ontario where its far better all around. If we didnt realize how long our house will sit on the market (2+ years in a good area too) we would be gone tomorrow. Good luck finding another sucker to pay the $3120/year property tax bill for streets that are paved half a day after a storm if we are lucky, no streetlights and no reason to pay more then we paid in Toronto for heaven’s sake.
I look at slavery throughout history and ask myself what the difference is and I dont see any.
Back in 1995 I moved to Alberta, the N.S. government paid my way here. The best move I ever did for my future. But just goes to show you even way back then the government was paying for people to get out. Isn’t that sad? The “Underground Economy” I guess has caught up to everyone but sadly will continue because people are being forced to hide income in order to survive. There is something desperately wrong with the government down there!
I moved to Alberta a week after I graduated High school in 2005. My parents have been asking for me to move back ever since. However I can find a job that I actually enjoy doing and affordable living with no problems here in Alberta.
As much as I love Nova Scotia and like to call it home, theres no way I would move back to end up working 16 hrs a day at michelin or Mcdonalds… No way.
If NS had lower taxes and less regulation then there would be opportunity and people would stay or move there. High taxes and government control = fewer jobs and less freedom
I left Cape Breton in 1986 at the age of 23. I was making $3.60 per hour……how sad. No way could I move out on my own and afford it. So shameful to loose all the young people. I have been in Banff Ab since. My dream is to retire in Cape Breton because that is all I can hope for. I have missed all the family events over these last years. And lost many family members, If I had a choice and could live I would be at home. Something has got to change to keep all the young people at home. Foreign workers are not the solution, real Canadians want to come home. The government needs to wake up before it just becomes a grave yard.
At age 55 I married a Nova Scotia woman who was living in Toronto and we continued to live there for 8 years. We moved to Yarmouth in 2008 with our kids (6 & 2) to be near her father due to his terminal cancer. I am a professional accountant and consultant and the only employment I had was one brief assignment in the early winter of 2008. I have lived off savings and some very good luck in the stock market.
This past year I decided to look west because I am not able to make large returns in the market consistently. I am 68 and could find work in the oil fields with little problem. The jobs are there. The employers are desperately looking for people who will come to work and act responsibly.
As for the cost of living, I was in Grande Prairie (55,000 pop) and with the possible exception of housing, EVERYTHING was cheaper. A small example is milk. Here in Yarmouth after paying $7.31/gallon it recently dropped to $6.00. In Grande Prairie milk costs $4.68/gallon. The lack of a PST is VERY noticeable when larger items are purchased. I saved over $100 when buying my laptop.
Running a small service business in halifax and believe me it is getting tough to survive here.
The underground economy is thriving,as people pay cash for everything they can to avoid
paying 15% hst,who can blame them? we are taxed to death already.The writing is on the wall for this province,if you think it is bad now wait another ten years!The only folks left here will be seniors, as all the kids head west for jobs or to start businesses in a much better
economic environment. Politicians know this,but try to feed us the crap that young aspiring
entrepreneurs will flock in droves here to start and run thriving businesses,saving Nova Scotia
from deep economic decline. I would not hold my breathe on this one.
How can I help?
I’m 39, with labor and office work experience. Being single and in NS I’ve had LOTS of problems finding stable work in NS, if I could afford to move to Calgary I would. Not by choice mind you but because that’s were the jobs are. If the federal government would treat Nova Scotia as a equal, instead of as a pile of shit, this province could be a GREAT place to work and live.
We need to stop allowing people 50+ (of which I am one) to make decisions to KEEP EVERYTHING THE WAY IT IS NOW, FOREVER. Our resistance, if not outright hostility, to change must be overcome. We must allow young thinking and energy to drive this province. If not, I will be swelling the ranks of those seeking to leave.
Umm cost of living…. Taxes, power, food, rental…. Did some cost estimates if I moved to B.C. (Minus not owing a house of course) I would pocket almost 1000$ more a month for equivalent life style. Don’t get me wrong I love halifax and I’m here to stay, but it hurts.
Cost of living is too high! POWER,GAS,FOOD, TAXES all foolish in Nova Scotia.. No Jobs, Companies that are big here, the Government allows them to contract out the work to other countries.. Our Government fails us yet again!! Dunno how many times I call Canadian business and talk to people down south.. Enough is Enough!!
Highest taxes in the country and the lowest wages. You do the math. Even with an education-you’re forced to work in a call centre or some other meaningless job to survive. That is if you can find one. Left in 02′ for hog town. Miss it dearly-could not survive. WTFUA.
I think that we should embrace the fact that we are a have not province. Make homes central to the airport instead a priority. Lets face it. With Saskatchewan’s reserves Bigger than albertas and BC Shale Gas worth Trillions – enough to eclipse both Alberta and sask. Both these projects have yet to fully come on stream. Where will those jobs come from? Nova Scotia could become a commuter province! We should be training for the future jobs! 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off . It’s a lot of travelling ,but it’s good money! JUST SAYING
So many whiners. Are you really that blind? It’s only been touched on in about 1/10 comments: the reason people are leaving the maritimes is OIL.
OIL. Period. Of course taxes out west are lower, THEY HAVE OIL MONEY. Of course young people want to move away to work, companies in the region BENEFIT FROM OIL MONEY – even INDIRECTLY, and are able to pay people MORE money in similar, typically low-wage jobs.
Why are we making excuses? If you don’t like living in NS, then leave. As a young professional working in NS, I can admit to some struggle, and of course there are better wages out west, but you know what? I don’t give a damn, because I like living here. Stop being so entitled. If you want to make more money, then move out west and chase that cash, but for God’s sake, say it for what it is (oil money) and stop whining.
If the Government would stop privatizing the resources in our province and making them governed by the owners to write their own laws, then maybe the youth could get a little piece of the maritime pie. But as long as this goes on, then the small towns will die and so will the urban centers as they lose their support sectors. The lop sided economy in this area is over whelming, you are either rich or living pay check to pay check.
We could not focus on cities like Halifax, most families would probably rather a nice loving community to live in; rather than a city. Help open little coffee shops, have farmers markets in more communities. I have to drive 40 minutes to go to a farmers market. Worry less about putting big corporations in towns or cities and maybe have more little stores who take a little community of it’s own to run. Have people who care about there employees and costumers. Make it not just about taking people’s money. If a person is just worrying about bringing people back to Nova Scotia because of the decrease in money our province has than it is not going to work. Just making jobs that obviously won’t last forever will just make a sudden decrease in people again. Think long term, and care about the people. And respect the environment. If you start with community than the rest will probably work it’s self out. This is not a quick thing that will be fixed.
Nova Scotia has become a haven for hipster sh%t heads who are out of touch with everyone else in this country, no jobs, no women without children or serious delusions, and the highest provincial & federal tax of the country, they should rename this province “f*ck you”
They make this sound more complicated then it really is. The reason people leave is the same reason I left, more jobs! and more money! It would take 15 years to earn what I earn in 5 years in Alberta.
Its not a hard formula to figure out. If Nova Scotia was to offer a better quality of life then people would move here. Good jobs that pay reasonable and pay overtime when you work more than 40 hours a week, less tax so our local politicians / government union jobs (teachers and health care workers included), will have to learn to live like the rest of the province does and Nova Scotia Power needs to stop charging some of the highest rates in North America. Do that and people will move back. PS> Please someone get rid of NSLC. The NS tax base paying people 20+ per hour to do what the private sector does for 1/2 that is crazy.
SO MANY younger (single, spouseless) people find that Halifax is so boring. Young people want a city with energy, with culture and with possibility….and so young people will pay for that – in cities like Toronto, Van, or Portland (sales tax free), etc. I love coming home to visit, but wouldn’t want to get sucked into the black hole of defeat it’s been tragically emeresed in, for many years.
I lost my job due to “Centralization” to Ontario and Queec not once but twice. The only work I could find was through temp agencies that wouldn’t pay more than minimum wage. As much as I wanted to stay I was forced to move to Ontario for better chances for employment.
The easiest city in Canada to become an entrepreneur? Seriously think that one through. Entrepreneurs require people that can afford their goods/services to start with.
What if we appreciated and supported art’s vital role in our city? The arts don’t pay the bills for the majority of the people.
What if we had more beautiful and active public spaces? Then it would be an even more beautiful town full of unemployed people.
What if our governments were transparent and hackable? This is Canada you’re talking about. The government is transparent. Hackable? Please.
What if we were the first province in Canada to provide universal, affordable child-care, attracting young families where parents want to continue careers? Where does this money come from?
What if we went all-in on rapid transit and active transportation? We would waste a lot of money. The majority of people drive cars.
I left Halifax as soon as I finished university. I was fortunate enough to get the best education possible in Nova Scotia and since neither the law nor medicine appealed to me, I got on a plane and moved to Asia when I was 21. I haven’t looked back since – that was 19 years ago.
When I come back, the city looks more depressed, more run down and there is this feeling that this is where ambition goes to die. 40 year olds serving coffee. Any new plans for buildings downtown are shot down because we sure still need the cannons to get a clear line of sight on the harbour! Barrington Street is positively depressing. I can only take about 2 weeks being there and then am desperate to get back on the plane.
It’s sad too, because there are so many quality graduates coming from the universities there. For the most part, I think people love Halifax and Nova Scotia. It’s a beautiful place full of friendly people. The sad thing is that there are absolutely no opportunities there and this permeates through the entire psyche of the place.
The key is to find a way to build a sustainable middle class rather than find new ways to support and accept minimum wage job creation. The cost of living is far out of line with the economic opportunities, so of course people leave. When I graduated, what job could I get? Instead I moved and started making $75k a year at 21 and grabbed every opportunity that I could. That figure now has multiples on it. Attracting private industry should be the absolute priority. I have talked to people here thinking about using Halifax as an outsourcing center because the people are highly educated, skilled . . . and cheap. If there is not enough industry to soak up educated graduates, naturally they will go somewhere where their skills are rewarded and they can build a family. It’s all about jobs and by that I mean highly skilled jobs – not making beautiful spaces, supporting the arts or putting more buses on the road (these are incremental costs that do nothing to generate meaningful employment for the majority of people).
I used to want to return. Now the only reason why I come back is to see my family, my friends and lament together on the state of affairs in the town I was born in. Such a pity too.
Nobody is mentioning the fact that there is the HST slapped on just about everything you buy, hydro rates are out of this world and the wages simply don’t match up. Yes, Toronto’s median income may match up but the cost of living day to day is cheaper. NS power rates are among the most expensive in North America, motor vehicle inspections(read tax grab), the inability of young people to find long term sustainable jobs. I am not a researcher,statistician, or Government lackey, but I know what impacts my family on a day to day basis.
Give up on the fairy tale ideas, kick the young people off the system , if the province stopped all the hand outs the people would be forced to work at some thing, their job would create a spin off then their money would be put back in to the economy creating more work. Some where the idea of not working came along because if it doesn’t pay enough we won’t work, at that point people flock to welfare. Putting paid baby sitter s in halifax or free bus rides won’t help the province , that’s just putting a band aid on the problem. I am 36 and fly back and forth to Alberta for work and not one of them ideas would help me or my family we are two hours away from the city.
I gave up on the fairy tale called opportunity in both Cape Breton where I grew up and Nova Scotia itself 17 years ago when I left.My hats are off to all of you who are making a living home and manage to be able to give their children a good life,but do realize you are in a small minority and represent only a small percentage of the population.I mean,don’t get me wrong because I wholeheartedly miss family get-togethers(as rare as they might have been),weddings,etc,but I know I made the right decision to leave when I did all those years ago.I’m no richer now than I was then and life isn’t necessarily any more perfect every day of the week here in Calgary,but I do love the city and don’t intend to leave it anytime soon unless I have no choice.
Wish we were still living in beautiful Fall River, NS but when the Darthmouth Refinery closed my husband was offered a job in Alberta, so we are making Calgary our home again. We previously lived in Calgary for 7 years but when the opportunity came to move to NS (and close to our ‘home’ province of PEI) we were thrilled! Both highly educated, with a young family we were there for under 2 years. We were heart broken to move back west but without job opportunities we didn’t have much choice. This article comes as no surprise for us 🙁
Try making a go of it in a smaller town(Bridgewater). The rent here is as high as Halifax with no jobs. I have a “decent paying” job at Michelin but it is a soul sucking existence to say the least. Why anyone stays is beyond me.
Im from Nova Scotia but moved 15 years ago.. There is 2 taxes there and no work.. Or what little work there is is very low pay and no hours.. Its bull crap.. You want to attract people back then get rid of at least one tax and create more jobs that pay better.. Trying to attract more young people isnt going to work.. I work with 20 year olds from Nova Scotia that make the same rate of pay as me $40 per hour and only pay 1 tax on anything i buy.. Do you really think youngsters are going to move back home for maybe $10 per hour doing the same thing? Not!!!! So you keep trying to take blood from a rock Nova Scotia and pretty soon there wont be anybody left there but the greedy government
So the author’s solution for how to stop out-migration is to build bike lanes?
How about not abolishing oil drilling?
Nova Scotia is poor: blame the ANTI-POVERTY COMMUNITY!!! Yes, the “Social Justice” groups, “Environmental Justice” groups, “anti-Poverty” groups, Anti-capitalist groups are DESTROYING Nova Scotia and Maritimes. I’m talking about NSPIRG, the Ecology Action Center, Sierra Club, and Council of Canadians. I dare you to try and develop the economy in NS; if you attempt to lift people out of poverty in Maritimes by creating high-paying jobs, guess who will THROW BRICKS at you??? The ANTI-POVERTY COMMUNITY!!! The “Social Justice” groups. The “Environmental Justice” groups. As long as our economy is dictated by the blathering environmentalists at Ecology Action Center and NSPIRG, we will never have progress.
I have been trying to move my family there for over a year..housing isn’t the issue.. getting there is..I have even Tweeted and Facebooked the mayor of Halifax and told him i would clean bridges with a toothbrush just to move my family there and although it may have seemed like a joke..it wasn’t.. If that’s what it took to move my family there I would.. I wish I could find a job there that would pay to move us there.. My ultimate goal is to move my family there (wife, son and myself) and live our life there and to have my 11yr old son grow up, marry and have kids there so we could watch our grandchildren grow up there.. but that all seems like a pipe dream.. I don’t want to live off the government there or anything just want a chance for my family to have a better life .. especially my son
I would love to see NS become an east coast Canadian tech hub. My husband and his brother have a bootstrap startup. There was a push to move to Austin or Seattle, but I want to raise my son in Canada. So we’re looking at NS, because I grew up in Maine and it’s familiar. We’re also considering Vancouver, for obvious tech hub reasons. NS offers fiber optic internet, which is vital for tech hubs, so THE basic infrastructure is already laid. I was surprised to learn, if we live outside of the greater Vancouver area, out in the further eastern burbs, the internet options are reminiscent of 2002. It’s not feasible. We’re not city people, we don’t want to be in the city, we want one close, while residing in a small town. NS gives us these options. It would be a wonderful area to setup a tech hub environment and draw people in. The basic infrastructure with the fiber optics is already laid. Now, if they could deal with tax issue, WTH is up with a 15% tax on everything you buy? I thought 7% was bad, and we don’t pay taxes on clothing, shoes or groceries. Why in the world is everything taxed at 15%?
The way to draw young people in is to push the tech hub vibe, a little hippie “grow your own food” mentality and clean air with low business taxes or tax breaks. I can guarantee, in NS there is probably a lot of untapped talent. Untapped because they don’t have options, they don’t know where to go for a seed round, or even how to seed a round of funding. Today’s youth is amazing with technology and writing code isn’t anything anyone needs to go to college for. It’s done with drive and everything a person needs is freely available.
NS’s youth should push for this. Techies are the best people to have around, they are natural earthy and love to keep things clean.
I hate to tell all you NS whiners that you are all rich compared to most of the people in this world. Yet you complain, complain, complain. The world is stuck on expansion and growth, at any cost. That kind of mentality gets into your head and now you “deserve” a better life than NS can provide. My partner and I enjoy life in NS on two part-time min wage salaries. We skip all the expensive things other people want/need and enjoy our free time. You should take a look at the way other people live in the world, see how they are truly in need compared to most of you. Go ahead, leave NS, good luck with finding a “richer” life.
Oh-Oh!!!! Not so good in NS? No longer so great in AB?
Woe is me!!! What will we ever do?
As someone who spent my younger years in Halifax, I can’t believe how negative this article is.
I’ve spent the last 6 years in a south eastern Ontario town of about 75k and there is so much less than I was expecting – job poor, resource poor, culture poor and absolutely zero options for someone 25 with a degree and solid resume – I took a glowing background and education with me where my family was and regretted it within 4 months. Toronto isn’t for me. Halifax was, but I (naively) saw a time limit because it’s so post-secondary dense – I considered it a college town.
Now as a married 30ish failed entrepreneur, all I want is to find that comfort I had working solid secretarial jobs at schools and libraries in a walkable, affordable, culturally relevant city.
You have no idea how much more depressing and bankrupting it can get.
I am from Nova Scotia and I moved out west to make something of myself. I ended up with two careers in ten years. Leaps and bounds happened to me in Alberta. I moved back to Nova Scotia 3 times with the same results unemployed and on welfare which by the way they make you feel like a criminal getting. There was no dignity given to a person in need they treat you like you can find a job easily nope! This past summer i went for a holiday now Halifax and Dartmouth is nothing more than a huge seniors complex filled with yoga and frozen yogret stands where pizza conner once was. Thinking of going back think twice all huge epic fails for me. Oh and if you did get experience elsewhere you won’t get hired because you not from there and if you are your pay is lower than what your use to and you will end up broke anyway because ns sucks money out of you like a black hole. But after all that it would be wonderful if you could afford to live there and thrive but its not its only for those who stayed behind after we all left. The food is amazing but the future is not if you want to hate your life move back. Stay where u are
First of all no one in NS is assessing the problem correctly. You have a VAST VAST amount of liberal voters in NS all of which live on pogie in most places during the winter months. If you want NS to get better your going to have to get young people interested in actually doing something other than attending the next town overs event. This is a problem with OLD people who are lazy down their and rely on social spending to survive. The answer is not to import more immigrants. Thats going to decrease the overall happiness for not just for Nova scotians but also for the immigrants who are going to get caught up in the fight between people and gov after even more stress is put on a “structure” that was “never built to code” in the first place. If you want to see Nova Scotia turn around, Stop incentivizing the women to be single parents, Restore the family unit, and use liberal social spending for more than more benefit checks. Start adding in updated infastructure in places like Cape breton for example and start doing things that CONSERVATIVES want to do. You guys seriously have to stop blaming other people its the Liberals who are privatizing the industry because they cannot tax and spend their way out of this problem. How many more generations of Scotians are going to suffer with low wages and a less than lavish lifestyle because the old windbags which overpopulate the island are not willing to budge on their simplistic view on life. Welcome to retirement country.
After 25 years of working and living from coast to coast I decided to return home when the provincial government was asking for an experienced work force to return home and promoting to other experienced workers to come to NS for the lifestyle it has to offers.
So in 2001 I and my wife who was from Ontario and met in Calgary had decided to move to Nova Scotia.
My wife was an experienced Administrative Assistant, and was looking so! forward to moving hear for what it had to offer as a lifestyle. My wife was a volunteer for Victims services in Vancouver for a number of years, and did Junior Achievement in Calgary for 3 years.
This is where the story gets into the “come from away” issue. My wife had great experience in her career. The kind of experience the government was looking for to get the population growing again.
My wife took a 6 week temp job in HRM to get her foot in the door and get things started. On her first day she was asked to remove a spiritual pendant that she was wearing from a supervisor who was wearing a spiritual pendant herself. My wife refused, but did not take it to anyone higher at that time. After the temp job was over she was relieved because it made her feel very uncomfortable.
My wife was still in contact with a former boss from Calgary who suggested that she go to a career consulting company in Halifax that he had used in the past. Long story short the male consultant told her she had great skills, but because she was a woman it would make it hard for her to enter the workforce in NS. Needless to say she did not employ their services. I guess this was foreshadowing of things to come as all of a sudden it felt like we were back in the mid-20th century.
We had both lived and worked all over Canada and could not believe that in the 21st century things like this could happen in the work force… we blew these two incidents off as a very isolated and let it be, as opposed to making a complaint of either incident to the companies or human rights.
We had decided to settle in the Valley. For the next 7 ½ years my wife applied on many jobs she was skilled at and never ever got an interview for any of them, and to add insult to injury there were a couple jobs that had been re-posted within a few weeks of her applying on them. So she re-applied to them and still never got called for an interview.
Finally after 7 ½ years of disappointment and humiliation my wife finally got called for a job interview. She was interviewed and hired by a consulting company hired from outside the province. Six months into a job she loved the Administrator gave her a hand written memo that said “I feel you have mental health issues that are causing your work to suffer” This was unacceptable. So she contacted the head office and told them about what had happened. My wife was fired when she came back to work the following Monday.
She took it to Human Rights, and after many months and legal fees got a settlement that didn’t even come close in covering damages and costs. I just cannot believe in the 21st century that this kind of treatment happens in a Canadian Province.
People have said to me…”oh she was overqualified it seems” How can a province expect experienced people to move here if that is the attitude? We moved here not with expectations of high pay or storming the business world. We moved here for the “Lifestyle”…and just wanted to enjoy the other things that NS had to offer.
My intent with this next statement is not to offend or to be arrogant, but sometimes the truth can be offending and sound arrogant. Anyone who has worked outside of the east coast for over 20 years will have more experience than persons who have worked here all their life…this is just fact. So should there be signs at the border, airports and job ads posted outside of the province state “welcome to Nova Scotia, but if you are looking for work please make sure you have minimal job experience”
We had made a couple attempts to possibly leave the province, but we decided to keep giving it a try, because we just did not want to be moving again at close to 50 and try to re-establish our careers, and by this time we really did not have the finances to do it right anyway. By conservative estimates I can honestly say that out life had been shorted $400,000.00 with lost wages, benefits, and having to spend most of our savings to survive over a 14 year period. This has been calculated using NS wage/salaries. If calculated using wages that we would have continued receiving in Calgary it would be much higher.
I have personally discouraged people I know who have shown an interest in moving here. I told them not to bother as their careers would most likely fail or suffer greatly. I have read about very similar experience by people from online forms. I have never encountered a place where management treats employees with such unethical power, or where others are rejected for what they know, and or for being a “CFA”
After 8 years of humiliation and rejection my wife ended up working for an online support company out of our basement for minimum wage and less than full time hours before her passing last year.
All I can say is thank you Nova Scotia for being so welcoming…you were friendly in public, but not so welcoming in private.
This story is not unique to us, as other CFA people have told us very similar stories. The only reason I have stayed here at this point is because of my 84 year old Mothers health.
Coming to Nova Scotia and you will find out quickly that they dont believe in diversity here, they never did! and as a result this province will always be at the tail of canada.
what you find here is
-lack of ambition
-boring culture and gastronomy
-obese people (they dont know how to eat besides meat and potatoes)
-ignorance due to being isolated from the rest of canada and again diversity in cultures and other skills.
-friendly people but you have to sit all night around a bon fire and drink beer…BORING!
-weather sucks
Thats why outsiders come here and cry to go somewhere else where canada is the real Canada.
Hello there, my husband and I are in our early thirty’s with four children. Being from BC, born and raised we have tried our best to ‘make it’. We own a home and our five year plan was to sell and move ‘up’ with the market being what it is here there’s no jump for us to make. Everything is too expensive.
We’re seriously considering moving to Nova Scotia and starting over. Somewhere we can live in a rural area but not far from shops and life.
My husband has had contact with a possible job offer already but our family would be devastated if we left.
It seems that most people stay in NS for family, but with that being the reason we would stay in BC, is there any major warnings we need before making such a leap of faith ?
Is it really that hard to survive in NS? Job wise , winter wise , future growth? Would our children suffer moving from BC to NS? I’m very realistic and would love to hear your candid opinions.
Thank you
Moved from B.C. to N.S. 2.5 yeas ago. Jobs were not a concern, as we are both retired. Spent 6 years “scouting out” the province before we made the move, and decided on South-West Nova. We are just over 2 hours by car from “the city” (Halifax) and the weather here is very comparable to the Fraser Valley. Yes, Taxes are higher, but vehicle insurance is a fraction of the cost, and your Basic Medical is covered by your taxes as well. Groceries are comparable in cost and the highest costs are home heating and electricity. By installing a Solar Array and Heat pumps, we have beat that expense quite handily. Given that a home here for $150,000 is equivalent to a home in BC for $500,000, the cost of those modifications ($35,000) is not too bad at all. Overall, our average monthly expenses for 2017 in Nova Scotia were $400- $500 less than they were in B.C. in 2013.
Should be named nova scraping
I’ve been meaning to defect for quite a while but Social Assistance won’t allow that, and my doctor says all of a sudden, without my knowledge or permission that I am “unable to work”
due to systemic discrimination thus I have no way out.
Covid closing it’s borders adds more water to the fire-pit and I’ve applied for many jobs, gotten them, and subsequently fired rom each one due to my doctor reporting me to employers and am now blocked from indeed and other job sites or any type of employment whatsoever and no extra money from the government.
Welcome to (the) North (Korea of) America.
What if I just try and jump the border into new brunswick and move further west until I cannot be detected, change my name and all my information and assume a new identity?
We recently moved to Nova Scotia from Montreal to be closer to two of our children. Personally I was hesitant considering the poor reputation of the health care system but I figured as a nurse with many years of experience in clinical care, management, administration and teaching I would figure it out. Was I wrong!!
Surprise surprise Nova Scotia health care system is in a worse state than Quebec! I accepted a management position in a very busy rural hospital and encountered staff who are burnt out, overworked, exhausted and disillusioned with the healthcare system. A chronic lack of qualified professionals and I am talking about all health professionals. Unfortunately it is the understaffed nurses who are having to step in iand act associal workers or physiotherapist because of a lack of such professionals. Add to that the lack of primary health in the province, virtually no walk in clinics, fewer and fewer family doctors and an aging population that has seen virtually no preventative health care. The population is relying on the emergency departments to provide their healthcare which puts an even heavier burden on resources.
Recently the government has promoted a « wet bandage » solution by telling individuals needing medical care to use the app « maple » . I’m sorry but texting back and forth with a doctor or nurse practitioner is a poor excuse for care.
Nova Scotia’s healthcare system sank into a deep sink hole years ago and it is so far down that hole that it will take years to rebuilt. It is truely shameful that the gouvernent allowed it to get to this state and don’t tell me that COVID is the culprit. COVID was the drop that caused the water to spill from the full glass but the healthcare system was broken long before. The Nova Scotia population doesn’t deserve this! Shame on the government for allowing the healthcare system to get to this state and shame on the population for accepting sub par healthcare
The Nova Scotia healthcare authority and the government have to look around, accept change and be creative. Open nurse run clinic, allow private clinic for doctor who opt out of Medicare. Yes I know people do not want a two tiered healthcare system but with the state we are in maybe it would allow take some of the strain off the public system for healthcare in the public system
One other thing. The big brother approach of the healthcare authority -complies, top heavy and unaware of the cultural differences i of outlying regions make for another disaster waiting to happen. I don’t have the solutions but « people » you will have to work fast because the system is hemorrhage if professionals and the population is getting sicker. Think fast, be creative and start changing things before that sink who disappears even deeper