One question that every East Coast Connected member asks themselves is, “As someone who has left the region, or with stakes outside of it, how do I participate at a greater level with the Atlantic provinces?” Some people are looking to return to that place, but are unaware of particular opportunities, while others look to strengthen their ties with their region of origin through investments or research. On June 5 at the Atlantic Business Summit, East Coast Connected asked some distinguished thinkers “To what extent should governments support the establishment of expatriate community hubs?”.

ABS 2009 Session 1: Diaspora Engagement from Gregory Lam on Vimeo.

Moderator Sarah Young of MT&L carefully navigated this discussion of “diaspora engagement,” opening with a definition of the term and noting that such movements of peoples “is nothing new.” Still, the impending “demographic crunch makes this relevant today,” said Young. Her opening question centered on expanding the role of the expat network. Besides using such groups for social engagements, she asked, how else could they be leveraged?

Author and Globe and Mail reporter Gordon Pitts spoke of the “small thinking” that is symptomatic of Atlantic Canada’s growth problems, from the ends of both industry and workforce alike. A philosophy of “let’s pay them less and tax them more” with respect to younger workers has traditionally inhibited growth and exacerbated outmigration in the region. Given the reality of the diaspora, then, Pitts was keen to stress the strength of the diaspora network and regional hubs of ex-patriots: “These hubs and networks are great collective ‘exit interviews.’ Any government should be listening to them. Listen to people who have left, and you get 'the real story.'” Ex-patriots give key information on why people leave, such as “tax rates, growth rates, pay levels in the private and public sector.”

Enticing young professionals to stay in the region is clearly a complicated issue, which Pitts argued should be approached from an angle of investment. Many young people “want to make their own careers,” and as such could benefit greatly from mechanisms that enabled start-ups, and increased attention from angel investors and venture capital. Ultimately, however, while “the typical professional Atlantic Canadian” has their heart set on that region, their income-earning power lies outside of that area. These people are “citizens of the world,” Pitts says, and “you’re not going to bring them all back.” But what you want to achieve is to capture more of their attention, their expertise.

Humphrey Sheehan, CEO of the New Brunswick Population Growth Secretariat, told a story about how, around 15 years ago, then-Premier Frank McKenna came to him and asked him to start working on growth policy related to demographic trends in the province. “Frank was always a little ahead of his time,” Sheehan joked. The idea did not initially catch on. With population stabilizing and actually dropping off in 2005-06, Premier Shawn Graham tasked Sheehan with establishing this long-incubating idea. Since being formed, the Secretariat has overseen eight successive quarters of population growth. “Repatriation is one of the fundamental pieces of our strategy,” says Sheehan.

On using ex-patriot networks to strengthen the growth of New Brunswick, Sheehan said just on the idea level, that “some of the best tips we get...come from [our] people in Ontario and Alberta.” As for why they have left in the first place, Sheehan mentioned that those with high educational debt sometimes think it would be irresponsible not to leave, to go and take a job elsewhere. Drawing their attention to practical employment opportunities would clearly be a key factor in enticing them to stay. Transitions to work, at a young age, would be an important factor in exposing students to these types of opportunity. These could include a renewed focus on co-op programs, from high school through university and community college. Like Pitts, however, Sheehan was realistic to the reality of outmigration. “The reality of youth is, they want to see the world....But we need to keep those links alive.”

“Universities should be deeply concerned with this question.” Why? “We’re a dynamic element.” So says Acadia President Ray Ivany. Bringing a dynamic and theoretical approach to this discussion, Ivany reflected on the greater philosophies of population movements, and how these could be harnessed to bolster the Atlantic region’s economic and social potential. “Post-secondary education...has long been a force of outmigration simply...by giving the population...more options. They can then exercise those options across the distribution of possibilities. Some include leaving the geographic area where they acquire those skills and going elsewhere. But there’s also a reciprocal dynamic: many students from across the world...choose Atlantic Canadian universities as a place to study.” On this note of attracting people with skillsets particular to the Atlantic region, Ivany spoke of the capacities for universities to engage region-specific interests, such as Acadia’s expertise in tidal power and environmental sustainability. These ideas are “rooted very deeply in our sense of place.”

Ivany drew a clear line between acts of repatriation and the prevention of outmigration, but if he was pragmatic about the latter, he was optimistic about the former. “If you look at the effort that’s going to be required to get someone back – once they’ve gone somewhere and established themselves, raised a family, and some rootedness in another part of the world – it is at least an order of magnitude higher than preventing it in the first place.” Given the difficulty of this effort, however, he reiterated the reluctance of the expat in leaving in the first place. “That reluctance is a window of opportunity. That reluctance is where there’s room for a different policy framework or approach.” Ultimately, outmigration need not hinder growth as much as traditionally thought. In the new paradigm of the “knowledge economy,” location has been rendered almost meaningless, Ivany argued. With the new focus on the global network came a parallel need for locality and individual place. As Atlantic Canadians, “you have a real ‘tribe.’” Contemporary networks have redefined “how we can come together,” and that impetus can be the role of place in an emotional, social or economic sense.

Chris Crowell, founder and President of East Coast Connected, introduced himself by providing the typical story of Atlantic Canadian outmigration. After finishing graduate school, “economics dictated that I was packing up the U-Haul and moving to Toronto, somewhat reluctantly.” This move was symptomatic not only of an economic reality but also of a mythological conditioning. “We’re engrained with this mentality that if you go down a certain path...that you have to leave the region to be successful,” or otherwise face “what in hockey they call a ‘very significant hometown discount.’” Crowell maintains that, in the face of such movements, there is a pressing need to move away from terms like “brain drain” and to talk more about terms like “brain circulation.”

As a solution to combating a notion of “drain,” Crowell advocates for multi-sector partnerships in bringing back the people who have left. Clearly believing in the potential of what Pitts called the “exit interview” of such network hubs, Crowell was nonetheless cautious of what he means by “bringing back.” There are, he argues, various possible contributions ex-patriots can make, whether that means re-patriation or investment. “Leveraging the goodwill” of the Atlantic diaspora towards their region of origin is clearly the place to begin in Crowell’s book. The success of this will largely depend on “global networks” of which ECC is just a part, Crowell said. “Within that network is tremendous wealth, people who have a disposition towards this part of the world, wanting to give back to it in some way.” On the side of Atlantic governments and business, Crowell underscored the real need to sell themselves to ex-patriots. He posed this as a question from an ex-pat to an Atlantic Canadian sector: “What opportunities do you have for me?” Government, in such a role, would act as a “conduit” or middleman between nodes of industry, ultimately funnelling wealth back to the region.