volume 103 • issue 24
Sheaf the
February 16, 2012
Where do U of S grads live? 1980
1985
The University of Saskatchewan student newspaper since 1912
Newcomers storm Saskatchewan As province exceeds 1M population, a booming economy beckons ISHMAEL N. DARO and DARYL HOFMANN “A lot of the people that I graduated with, in the same program or in the same year as me, went to Calgary,” said Christine Stadnyk, talking by phone from Vancouver. Stadnyk earned a masters degree in soil science from the University of Saskatchewan in 2010. After scouring the job market at home for several months, she packed up and left for the coast of British Columbia. She said she could have stayed in the province and worked in forestry, but Vancouver had a greater range of jobs in the environmental sector. Now, she works for a groundwater and soil consulting firm. But it was also a feeling that life in Saskatoon was becoming too predictable, Stadnyk said. “I wanted to be somewhere that had a little more diversity in a concentrated area than what Saskatoon had.” Her story isn’t new, but it’s becoming less common. Reversing a longstanding trend, the last five years has seen more people move to Saskatchewan than leave, according to new census data that show the province making a sharp turnaround in growth after years of decline. For the first time since 1986,
there are more than one million residents living in the province. The rise in population, Statistics Canada says, is mainly the result of a wave of immigration and a spike in interprovincial migration, both groups likely drawn to the province’s red-hot economy and the high likelihood of landing a job. In releasing the first batch of census numbers, Statistics Canada pointed to “the natural resources and energy sectors [generating] economic growth in various regions of this prairie province, which also had one of Canada’s lowest unemployment rates.” From 2006 to 2011, Saskatchewan saw a 6.7 per cent jump in its population, compared to back-to-back losses of 1.1 per cent in each of the previous two census periods. The comeback makes Saskatchewan the thirdfastest growing province in the country, trailing only British Columbia and Alberta. In a Feb. 9 interview with the StarPhoenix, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall noted that the province is living up to its motto of “from many peoples, strength.” “They’re coming to this province from 192 countries around the world. From every other province in the country, they are coming to Saskatchewan and finding opportunity and bringing their families here and they’re
helping us live out our credo,” he said. In addition to attracting people, the province may also be retaining more residents. This is particularly significant when university graduates decide whether to stay in Saskatchewan or move elsewhere. “Given the strength of our provincial economy now, there really are more opportunities for graduates to make their careers here,” said Jason Aebig, president of the university’s alumni association, who graduated from the U of S with a political science degree in 1999. “In the late ’90s, I think it’s fair to say that there was an overall exodus of young professionals from the province — not necessarily because they didn’t want to make a life and a career here, but frankly there just weren’t the opportunities.” The U of S, which keeps updated statistics on graduates, provided the Sheaf with data that seem to show a long-term trend of people increasingly choosing to stay in the province after getting their degrees. Only about 55 per cent of graduates from the 1980s remain in the province, based on the current addresses the U of S has for them. The percentage of grads who ended up settling elsewhere in Canada hovers around 40 per cent for the same decade. Census
2
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010 2011
Saskatchewan 54.4
Rest of Canada 39.1
51.8
40.9
55.0
39.1
56.3
37.9
52.3
40.2
55.2
37.7
51.8
39.6
51.5
40.8
53.2
38.5
53.1
38.6
55.9
37.8
56.4
37.2
60.3
34.1
62.9
31.2
62.1
32.1
65.4
29.9
63.6
32.0
61.7
33.0
62.7
31.9
62.2
32.7
63.2
31.1
63.9
31.3
68.4
27.3
68.5
27.0
70.0
26.5
72.1
24.4
72.6
23.9
74.0
23.3
76.3
21.7
78.7
19.6
80.2
18.5
83.3
15.5
over the last three decades, a growing percentage of University of Saskatchewan grads have stayed in the province. organized by year, reflecting current addresses.
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Brianna Whitmore/Graphics Editor
Is there a music venue crisis in Saskatoon? Vive’s collapse raises questions about lack of all-ages shows Holly Culp Copy Editor At this time last year, it looked as though Vive had found its niche and not only was it going to get better, it was poised to single-handedly change the face of the music scene in Saskatoon. And then it all fell apart. First, the music promotion company lost Jale, its venue at Caffe Sola, for a scheduled expansion of the cafe; all tenants were told to vacate the premises by August. Then, Rich Taylor — co-founder of Vive — left the company. “My reason for leaving at that point was that I had worked close to full-time on the Jale, maintaining the youth series that we were running.... It was incredibly draining and I got paid not very much in return,” said Taylor. “I left my full-time job and switched to part-time so I could do Vive and then we lost the venue.” Samantha Braun
The loss of the venue was just the first in a series of events that toppled the promise that was Vive. At the time Taylor left the company, Vive was destined to carry on. The Roxy Theatre served as an acceptable placeholder and for a while Vive put on some bigger shows, including Karkwa and Braids. Phil Greer, the remaining co-founder of Vive, carried on business as usual and spent months looking for an alternative venue to take Jale’s place. And then, as New Year’s rolled around, Greer “had an epiphany.” “I realized that this project was taking up more time, energy and effort than my life could afford,” he said. “My new resolve to spend more of my limited free time with my family brought the end of Vive.
Vive
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