Perception key to retaining Manitoba youth: report
Advocates seek all-hands-on-deck approach to address out-migration issues
By: Gabrielle Piché
Posted: 8:43 PM CDT Thursday, Sep. 19, 2024
Over the past decade, Manitoba has experienced a net loss of more than 23,000 young people to other provinces — and a new report has detailed why.
Safety concerns, career advancement opportunities and vibrant communities elsewhere top the list of reasons for leaving, according to the Canada West Foundation’s study on Manitoba youth mobility.
Local business leaders are sounding alarm bells, calling for widespread change.
“This is going to be an all-hands-on-deck approach to address an issue like this,” said Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.
Last year, the organization commissioned the Canada West Foundation to study why Manitoba has experienced a loss of people interprovincially for at least four decades.
It came as various sectors — from agriculture to hospitality — repeatedly stressed labour shortages.
The Canada West Foundation unveiled its report this week. In 124 pages, it details out-migration trends and reasons for youth departures.
“There’s just not really an understanding of what Manitoba offers,” said Stephany Laverty, co-author of the report.
Manitoba has one of Canada’s youngest populations; it’s diverse, has a rich cultural sector and jobs available within its economy, the report states.
“I think that perceptual challenge is really a barrier for youth,” Laverty said.
The Canada West Foundation, a Calgary-based think tank, led eight surveys and five focus groups to gather information, alongside secondary research.
It pulled survey responses from more than 1,500 people ages 18 through 45. A majority of respondents were from Manitoba; 300 each came from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto.
Outside the province, Manitoba can be a “blank slate” to younger generations. Sometimes, it’s overgeneralized as very rural; other times, people liken all of Manitoba to their perception of Winnipeg, Laverty said.
“How do you show Manitoba as this place of nuance and a place where you can build a life?” Laverty said. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.”
Jadyn Friesen, a 23-year-old University of Winnipeg student, considers herself a regular traveller. When she says she’s from Manitoba, people “literally laugh.”
“The Prairies — especially us and (Saskatchewan) — they don’t get a good rep,” she said, adding crime is often brought up.
The Canada West Foundation’s report includes a 2022 crime severity index. Winnipeg ranked first for violent crime by population size when evaluating communities with 100,000 and more residents.
Friesen would move to a different place out of curiosity. But she does love Winnipeg, she said, adding the people are “very lovely.”
However, downtown can be scary to women her age, she added.
Roman Dokuchie, 21, has heard the Winnipeg complaints often: “It’s dirty, it could be cleaner. Lots of drug problems, lots of crime. Bike thefts.”
Even so, he considers Winnipeg “a pretty good city” and doesn’t want to move.
Everyone from government to businesses and post-secondary institutions must work harder on retaining and attracting young Manitobans and newcomers, Davidson said.
It starts with talking about the province in a positive way and promoting local success stories, he added. “It almost needs to be ingrained in our mindset moving forward to understand and have those conversations with young people.”
Economic reconciliation, easing barriers for newcomer professionals and creating more relationships between post-secondaries and high schools are among things to consider, he added.
The report carves out sections for rural, newcomer and First Nations communities. Almost all immigrant respondents said they’d move to another province or territory for a job; just nine per cent reported coming to Manitoba for a specific job offer.
More than half — 54 per cent — said the chose Manitoba because family was already there or because immigration to the province was easier.
A fleeting migrant population needs to be addressed, Davidson said, as does rural out-migration.
Often, young adults move from small communities to cities like Winnipeg and Brandon for school. It’s hard to bring them back, noted Margot Cathcart, CEO of the Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corp.
Front-line jobs traditionally held by youth, like in restaurants and retail, have been harder to fill, she added.
Cathcart said she is planning to delve into the Canada West Foundation report and speak to rural communities about next steps.
IT and digital media workers were most likely to leave Manitoba, the Canada West Foundation’s report found. Fifty per cent of respondents reported looking elsewhere. People working in finance, insurance and knowledge industries also topped the list.
There’s “a lot more work to be done” to keep tech workers in Manitoba, said Kelly Fournel, CEO of Tech Manitoba.
“There’s a bit of a disconnect in terms of, we’re creating graduates who are ready for the knowledge-based economy, but we don’t necessarily have that economy in Manitoba right now.”
Some provinces have an innovation minister to generate jobs and excitement in the industry. That’s lacking in Manitoba, Fournel said.
The province has “innovative training and partnerships” moving the tech sector forward, Economic Development Minister Jamie Moses stated.
He pointed to New Media Manitoba as one organization creating excitement among young people.
The province continues to grow industries that will attract youth, like the tech sector, Moses continued. He blamed the previous Progressive Conservative leadership for having “more austerity,” impacting younger generations’ view of Manitoba.
Canada West Foundation respondents ages 18 to 24 were most likely to be pessimistic about job opportunities within the province.
Fournel wonders whether respondents are dealing with the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a “climate of pessimism.” High school graduates during the COVID-19 pandemic are now in their early 20s.
The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce spent $429,000 on the Canada West Foundation report. Money was taken from the province’s $50-million COVID-19 long-term recovery fund, which the chambers administered.
It was money well-spent, Davidson said.
“The last thing … we would hope that a report like this does is sit on a shelf,” he added. “I hope we can work with government and other stakeholders to develop some action plans so that we can reverse these trends.”
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
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