What would it take to move a Vancouverite to Alberta? Alberta Premier Jason Kenney hopes lower home prices, shorter commutes, higher incomes and backyards could be enough. In a video for the recently launched talent recruitment campaign Alberta is Calling, inspirational music plays as the camera pans over Edmonton and zooms in on Kenney below. “I’m standing in front of something that a lot of people in Toronto or Vancouver don’t get to see very often, the front yard of a detached house,” he says in the video. Describing the price of a single-family home in Canada’s two largest cities as “out of reach,” Kenney is asking Torontonians and Vancouverites to consider their options when it comes to taking their skills elsewhere. According to Bryan Yu, chief economist at Central 1 Credit Union, these features aimed at attracting workers to live in Alberta are nothing new. “I think Alberta has always been relatively attractive, at least relative to some places [of Canada] due to higher income,” Yu said. “And that’s still true.” So why is Kenney starting this campaign now? It could have something to do with what appears to be an interprovincial migration that sees more Albertans leaving than coming. From 2020 to 2021, the number of people who moved from Alberta to B.C. was more than double the number of those who moved to Alberta from B.C., according to Statistics Canada. However, even with more Albertans choosing to call BC home, the number of expected jobs in each province still hovers around the same number. From 2021 to 2031, BC is estimated to have 1,004,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Alberta estimates that between 2021 and 2030, its jobs will be slightly higher, at about 1,206,600, according to a government report. With job growth hovering around the same number, Yu says he believes most Vancouverites and Torontonians will recognize that Alberta is asking for what it is: a sales pitch. “It’s a marketing campaign,” he said. “I think we recognize that it’s unlikely to have a significant impact on attracting people to Alberta.” E.G. the workers irritated by the campaign While Yu may not be too worried about these efforts by the Alberta government, some BC workers have a different feeling about the campaign. According to the Alberta is Calling job board, some of Alberta’s most “in-demand” jobs are in health care. BC Nurses Association Vice-President Adriane Gear is concerned about the campaign’s impact on health care workers in her province. The situation is dire across Canada in terms of staff shortages and dangerous working conditions, Gear says. She said she worries that Alberta’s higher wages and marginally better conditions could be enough to convince BC’s few remaining nurses to make the move. Historically, Alberta wages have risen to outperform its other provinces. In a UBC study that analyzed interprovincial wages from 1997 to 2013, researchers found that by 2013 Alberta’s average wage was almost three dollars more than other major provinces, such as Ontario and B.C. Using Ontario as a benchmark, the study states Alberta wages rose 23 percentage points more than B.C. as well as Ontario in the time frame. For health care workers specifically, numbers from the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions note a higher maximum income for registered nurses in Alberta who work fewer annual hours than those in B.C. Registered nurses in Alberta earn, at most, about $123 more each year for working almost 30 fewer hours. While the difference may be small, it’s enough to worry the Gear. “A campaign like Alberta is Calling [makes] the hairs on the back of my neck are really standing up because, oh my God, we can’t afford to lose any more nurses,” Gear said. Returning from a recent trip to Creston, Gear said she was talking with municipal leaders who told her about the small border community of Elkford, BC, where nurses already go to work in Alberta every day. “I don’t think it’s a big scale of numbers,” Gear said. “But in these really small communities that are losing emergency services, like Elkford, it would really help them if working conditions [in B.C.] it was better so they could attract these nurses back to work in the community where they actually live.” He hopes the BC government can seize the opportunity to improve working conditions for nurses in the province, retain those still working here and perhaps lure those overseas to help plug holes in the province’s health care system. . Loved ones mean more than paychecks The problem, and probably one of the reasons for Kenney’s campaign, is that Alberta doesn’t even have nurses to treat. Kathy Howe has been working as a nurse in Alberta for about 27 years. The executive director of the Alberta Nurses Association says if 25 ICU nurses from Vancouver or Toronto suddenly decided to uproot their lives and move to Alberta, “that would just be a jackpot.” “I’m not particularly optimistic that it will happen,” Howe said. “But if there’s someone there who goes, ‘Hey, the grass looks greener, I’ve always wanted to go, here’s a good opportunity.’ Bring them. We would love to have them.” Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Howe says the problems in Alberta’s health care system have been a long time coming. “It’s been bad in rural areas for a long time and it’s harder to recruit people to go live in rural areas, but it’s getting worse,” he said. “It’s the registered nurses where we struggle the most.” But with health care hurting in both provinces, both Howe and Gear demonstrate how difficult it can be to convince workers to leave their provinces. Gear was raised, educated and still lives on Vancouver Island to be close to family and friends. Similarly, Howe, who still lives in her hometown of Calgary, studied in Alberta and has only moved to the province for work. “I think that’s one of the things, probably, that’s kept me in Alberta more than anything, is that’s where my life has been and so that’s worked well for me,” Howe said. Gear expressed a similar sentiment. With plenty of work always available to her at home, she never felt the need to leave. “I live in a beautiful part of the world,” he said. “I just settled in, met my husband and all that was unnecessary [leave].” Having friends and family nearby is one of the factors that Yu says may influence some people’s decisions to relocate more than economic factors. “People still move for a variety of reasons, they’re not alone [about] the economic impact or the impact of home ownership,” he said. Other factors such as a province’s political leanings or how easy it is to access nature can also influence someone’s decision to move, Yu added. Overall, Yu says the campaign is likely trying to attract new workers to Alberta who haven’t established roots. “I think they’re trying to appeal to the younger demographic, those who are starting their careers looking to build homes or buy homes,” he said. But even those new to the job market, Yu says, could choose their provinces. “I think the campaign … probably highlights some merits,” he said. “But at the same time, labor markets are very tight across Canada right now and people can really choose where they want to be.” Can BC afford to lose workers? What will happen if Vancouverites decide to answer the call? It could spell trouble for BC, according to Yu. “I don’t think any country can afford to lose people that much right now,” Yu said. “When we think about these kinds of campaigns that highlight quality of life and affordability, a lot of it also talks about the lack of that in some other markets like Vancouver.” Gear may be concerned about a slightly higher salary attracting nurses to Alberta, but Yu is focused on the housing supply element that he says will worsen over time. “The key is that if we want to attract a workforce and retain our existing workforce, we need to address these issues around making sure we have more affordable housing across the spectrum,” he said. Without cost of living improvements in BC, Gear also remains concerned that targeting youth through this campaign could actually be successful. “Especially young people who are not connected to the communities because their children are there. I’m really worried that we could lose many more nurses in our neighboring province,” he stressed. Back home in Alberta, Howe says she recognizes that Vancouver and Toronto are also in tough spots, but she’s glad to see her government at least trying to do something about staffing shortages in her community. “We can’t keep doing things the way we’ve been doing them and think something different is going to come along,” he said. “We have to do something different if we want different results.”
