Out migration of youth is not a real crisis on PEI.

Islanders have left the Province for more than 100 years looking for adventure and their fortune.

PEI is just too small and limited in resources to support all its sons and daughters.

In 1891 the population of PEI was a surprising 109,000, not far off from today’s 139,000.

A downturn in the economy and natural resources reduced the population to 88,000 by the late 1920’s. The population has been climbing in fits and starts since then.

Most of my friends from the 50’s and 60’s in rural PEI are long gone to jobs in other provinces and the States. Everyone has relatives in the Boston States or Ontario.

After I returned to PEI in 1975, there was another out-migration to the west for jobs in ‘78. It happened again in 1983 during the recession and so on.

I have 5 children, only one is left on PEI. Will is in the high tech sector. He left here and tripled his income in no time.

Laura went to law school away and stayed for a job in Toronto. She needs the income to pay off her student loan.

Gabe and Allison have lived in Ontario for so long; I doubt they could contemplate living on PEI.

Except for government jobs and a few well paying jobs in the aerospace, IT, or manufacturers like DCL, there just isn’t the market on PEI for good paying jobs for young people.

So they leave which is what they’ve been doing for 100 years. Some people come back but most don’t.

Otherwise our population would be 500,000 by now.