Off the highway, off the radar: Bonavista mayor

The mayor of a historic Newfoundland town says its location— precisely, its distance from the Trans-Canada Highway— is standing in the way of economic recovery.

Bonavista Mayor Betty Fitzgerald says towns like hers are feeling a greater sting from Newfoundland and Labrador's sustained population loss because they cannot lure new employers.

"Mostly, the business that [goes] into Newfoundland and Labrador right now is into the city, or is into what we call the hub, which is places [on]what we call the main drag, on the main highway," Fitzgerald told CBC News. "And that's not fair."

As the province's population continues to decline, rural communities— especially those on the coast— are bearing a disproportionate share of the damage, Fitzgerald said.

Statistics Canada last week pegged Newfoundland and Labrador's population at 509,677, as of July 1. The province's population, which had shown a peak of 568,474 in the 1991 census, has been declining since cod fisheries collapsed in the early 1990s.

The demographic picture for the province, though, is more complex than an overall decline. Communities surrounding St. John's, for instance, have been growing steadily, as have service towns like Clarenville, which is about 110 kilometres south of Bonavista.

Fitzgerald said rural communities can provide a cheap labour force for employers who are scrambling for workers in other jurisdictions.

"In order for us to survive, what's needed is to bring industry to us, not have our people outmigrate to mainland Canada, seeking employment," Fitzgerald said. "Because, with technology… business can set up almost anywhere."

However, Rob Greenwood, director of the Leslie Harris Centre at Memorial University, said recruiting businesses to rural areas is not easy.

"Geography matters," said Greenwood, who is also president of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation.

"I don't think it's a necessity to be on the main drag, but it definitely is an asset, because transportation is critical for anything you do. You're not going to get accidental visitors— unless you draw them to where you are— without being on the main drag."

With about 4,000 residents, Bonavista— like many of the smaller neighbouring communities— has been losing population, even with a Fishery Products International plant in the town. The town has had links with the fishery for centuries: according to legend, explorer John Cabot made his landfall at Cape Bonavista during his 1497 voyage of discovery for England.

Fitzgerald said she remains a positive thinker, although she is troubled by Newfoundland and Labrador's sliding birth rate. Just over 4,000 babies are now born in the province each year, a third of levels recorded in the 1960s.

"Most of our young people, as soon as they're finished the school, they're moving away," she said.

"There's no employment. If you're going to lose your young people, then there's not going to be a birth rate in your communities, because all that's being left behind is people who's going to be a senior in the near future."