Why are people leaving Prince Edward Island?

New data released by Statistics Canada, this week, suggests that Prince Edward Island is losing people to other provinces at a rate not seen in 30 years.

The numbers suggest that Canada's smallest province had a net loss of 1,074 people due to interprovincial migration in 2012-13.

The other Maritime provinces also lost people at higher than normal rates: New Brunswick lost 3,126 to other provinces while Nova Scotia lost 5,877.

So, why are so many people leaving?

There are a number of theories being bandied about this week.

Not surprisingly, the federal Liberals and governing provincial Liberals are trying put the blame on the Harper government and their changes to the Employment Insurance program.

Last year, the Harper government introduced new, more stringent rules around collecting benefits which significantly affected the Atlantic provinces — who rely heavily on seasonal workers — the most.

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Under the new rules, which came into effect in January 2013, a job seeker could be obliged to take a job outside his or her industry and community and take a pay cut of as much as 30 per cent.

"When you look at the last year, it was one of the best years in Prince Edward Island in terms of the number of jobs that were created. We also had the largest population we’ve ever had, even with this out-migration,": P.E.I.'s Innovation Minister Allen Roach told the Guardian newspaper.

"The only thing that’s changed in the last year is the federal government has made changes to the EI policy and EI Act."

Liberal MP Wayne Easter, who hails from P.E.I., echoed his ideological colleague's comments in the House of Commons.

"P.E.I. had a net loss of 1100 people...the highest number of people in 30 years," Easter said during Question Period.

"Why? Because of the Conservative government's changes to Employment Insurance that are an attack on the seasonal industries and the seasonal workers."

Employment Minister Jason Kenney responded for the government.

"Mr. Speaker that demagoguery was complete unadulterated nonsense," Kenney said.

"Not one person has to leave P.E.I. in order to search for available work to qualify for E.I. Not one single person.

"In fact, our statistics show that fewer than one per cent of applicants for E.I. have not qualified for benefits as a result of the changes this government has made. To the contrary: employers in Atlantic Canada are finding more people working in their communities so that we don't have to bring temporary foreign workers for the jobs that are available."

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Gail Shea — the regional minster for the federal Conservatives — told CBC News that people were leaving the province for a better life.

"I say the issue was opportunity for them to make a better life for their family and that's exactly what they're doing," Shea said.

"People want to work and make money and I don't see anything wrong with it."

The evidence seems to support the Conservative Party's narrative.

According to a recent study by the Bank of Montreal, and reported on by the Canadian Press, provincial migration between the provinces is at its highest level in 25 years thanks to the natural resource industries in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Over the past year, according to CP, more than 50,000 Canadians migrated to Alberta from other provinces.

So, while it might be easier for the Liberals to blame new E.I. rules for the negative migration, it looks as if the reasons behind the Maritimes' population woes are the same now that they've been for decades.

Maritimers are simply going where the work is.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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