Generation that returned to booming Newfoundland worries for future
For generations now, Newfoundlanders have been seeking work in greener economic pastures. But there's one segment of the population that bucked the trend in recent years — returning home in big numbers as the economy here boomed.
These 30-somethings had left Newfoundland for school and work but came back in with the tide as Newfoundland went from being a "have not" to a "have" province. But now, with another change in fortunes, they're facing an uncertainty that older residents know all too well.
Meet a group of high school friends from Torbay, NL, a small community just north of St John's. They all moved away to get education and to work and returned when the economy in Newfoundland picked up.
Wade Locke calls what's happening to Newfoundland and Labrador's economy unprecedented. He's been studying the province's economy for decades, dating back to before the collapse of the cod fishery in the early 1990s.
Wade Locke is an economist and the head of the Department of Economics at Memorial University. Locke says the biggest impact now on the province's economy is how government reacts to the fallout of the dropping oil prices. He adds if the government carries out its 30 per cent cut in every department, it would lead to massive layoffs of around 16,000 people, destroying the economy.
If you've been affected by the changing economy in Newfoundland and Labrador, let us know.
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This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath and St. John's Heather Barrett.