While watching an episode of "Canada: A People's History" in class, it focused briefly on the state of Newfoundland in the 1960s, specifically how the younger generation of Newfoundlanders affected the Atlantic province.
Though the 1960s was an era of wide-spread social, federal, and economical change, Newfoundland felt the times extremely hard. Canada's urban areas continued to grow (somewhat propelled by deals made with American industries, such as Ford Automotive) and previously rural areas experienced an immense gain in development and industry. As a result, people who had been living in these rural areas for decades were forced to relocate to make way for the new development. "Canada: A People's History" estimated that 30,000 people from Newfoundland alone were told to leave in order to make space for new roads, schools, and industries. While the new roads and schools were of help to the good of the society as a whole, they actually had an adverse impact on the province.
Naturally, as urban areas grew in industries, more jobs were created and the demand for young, working Canadians grew as well. The draw of sufficiently-paying jobs and city life was heavy on the young generation of Canadians living in Newfoundland. Although the province had historically seen work and profit through the practices of mining and fishing, industrial development had taken its toll on the more pastoral way of life. The 1960s were tough times for people trying to make a living in Newfoundland, as the traditional industries crashed and the economy became heavily strained. With this persisting situation, many young Newfoundlanders felt that they had to leave the rural area to seek out a better life for themselves and their families. It is estimated that in the years between 1956 and 1973, an astounding 1 million people left Newfoundland in order to receive higher education or begin new jobs.
What I found to be even more surprising is that although all of this happened around 40 years ago, the Newfoundland/Laborador area is still feeling the effects. According to the 2006 report by Statistics Canada, the June 2005-June 2006 year was the first in Newfoundland's history to report a death rate that exceeded the birth rate. Those analyzing the data attribute this not only to a societal shift towards smaller families, but mainly due to "the exodus of young families, who now are bringing up children in other provinces (cbc.ca)". As people relocated during the 1960s, most of them continued to live and raise their own children where they now lived. What this amounts to is a shift in demographics previously found in Newfoundland to a population that (if the trend persists) will be comprised of mostly elderly Newfoundlanders.
A Graphical Representation of the Average Number of Births Per Year since 1949 (image from cbc.ca)
Newfoundland is an area that has had extreme changes within its history, ranging from considerable profit (from fishing and mining) and a traditional way of life, to a serious economic slump and emigration of a large portion of its inhabitants. This is Newfoundland's past and only time will tell what the future of this province truly will be.
Sources used:
"Rural Reality Check." Newfoundland and Labrador. 17 Oct. 2006. CBC News. 07 Oct. 2007