There was a story in the National Post some months ago that said 300 people had left in the last two years from Prince Edward Island to go to Alberta. There had to be at least 500 from my riding during the election campaign, so the numbers don't really reflect the mobility and the numbers that are leaving the region.
We're at the point now that our construction companies, which are seasonal in most of this country, can't find enough skilled labour for their own crews.
I'd just like to know the real numbers and the effect this is having. In Atlantic Canada we have always had out migration. Now we have an aging population and a low birth rate as well. We're going to get hit triply. Right now we're feeling it. Not only are young people going west to Alberta, but people with kids, people in their 40s, are also going out. We see it's getting to be a major demographic problem for Atlantic Canada, and there are no immigrants coming in. If immigrants do come in, they don't stay very long.