By Jon Birger, senior writer
November 4, 2008: 5:10 AM ET
(Fortune Magazine) -- Cold, landlocked, and boasting as its largest metropolis the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan may not be top of mind for most Americans. But the Canadian province is one of the richest spots in the world when it comes to natural resources. It's the world's largest producer of uranium. It's the biggest producer of the fertilizer potash (current price: $1,000 a ton, up from $300 this time last year). It is the world's largest exporter of green lentils and chickpeas. And it's home to enormous supplies of oil and gas: The U.S. buys more oil from Saskatchewan than it does from Kuwait. No wonder the CEO of one Fortune 500 company - Jim Prokopanko of Mosaic, which has a potash mine near the town of Esterhazy - describes the prairie province as "the next sovereign wealth fund."
Indeed, Saskatchewan - for the geography challenged, it shares its southern border with Montana and North Dakota - today enjoys Canada's fastest-growing economy; its GDP is expected to rise 3.9% this year, compared with 0.9% for the country as a whole, and it has a $3 billion budget surplus. Entrusted with "not screwing it up" (his words) is Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, the pro-business conservative elected in 2007. Wall's goal is actually much more than not screwing it up. He's on a mission to tell Saskatchewan's growth story at home and abroad.
I first met Wall - a glib and personable 42-year-old who's as comfortable talking NFL football as he is quoting Thomas Friedman - when he was in New York City last spring to speak at an energy conference. He promised not to raise oil royalties, which won him a standing ovation from the bankers in the crowd.
But Wall's top priority is at home: He needs to fix Saskatchewan's labor shortage. An area the size of Texas, Saskatchewan has only one million residents. "For any business thinking about building a new mine or expanding an existing one, the top-of-the-list question [in Saskatchewan] is always going to be 'Can we get the tradesmen?'" he says. Because of the shortage, Wall is reluctant to spend much money on new infrastructure projects, despite having the cash to do it. (The province doesn't yet have a sovereign wealth fund, but Wall says it's on his radar.)
Wall wants to grow the population 10% in ten years. So far, his government has launched splashy recruiting campaigns in Alberta, Ontario, and Manitoba, and has sent missions as far as the Philippines to recruit medical personnel.
In September Wall traveled to Toronto along with 50 Saskatchewan employers to sell the province at Canada's national job fair. During breaks he delivered his sales pitch to reporters. "Saskatchewan is not just a great place to live, it is a great place to make a life," Wall would say over and over to anyone with a notepad or a microphone, each time referring the listener to the 10,000 job openings listed at saskjobs.ca. (Diamond driller, salary $56,000, for example.)
Of course, life in Saskatchewan isn't for everyone. The average high temperature in Saskatoon in November is 29 degrees Fahrenheit. The average low in January is 9 below. "We need to focus on finding people who are looking for an economic opportunity," Wall says. But like any savvy marketer, he knows his limitations. "We have to be realistic," he says. "We'd better not be going to anywhere with a warm climate saying, 'Yes, but it's a dry cold.'"
Fed up Brits should come to Canada. The Country is looking at attracting 50,000 foreign workers within the next year alone
Canada is putting skilled British workers on a fast track for immigration visas to exploit our soaring cost of living. Its officials believe superior public services and the ability to weather economic turmoil will lure Britons fed up with fuel and food prices and with the state of schools and hospitals. Alberta's employment minister Hector Goudreau has been sent to this country to 'target' those tempted by a new life overseas.
It is one of the most audacious recruitment raids since Australia poached a million Britons - known as the Ten Pound Poms after the ship fare they paid - in the 1950s and 60s. The Canadians want GPs, teachers, nurses, electricians, carpenters, engineers, construction workers, management consultants, and cardiac and diabetic specialists.
Anyone of any age can apply, although workers who fit skills and experience criteria will be fast-tracked for visas.
Somebody from London might be able to sell their small flat and come to Alberta where they can buy a detached house with a huge back yard and huge front yard for the same amount. The cost of living is considerably less than in the UK. The salaries are comparable or even higher, so anyone who moves over would be able to make money and set some aside.
The economy in Alberta - which is founded on oil reserves - was constantly growing, and has remained steady despite the global credit crunch. There is beautiful scenery, the health care system is second to none in the world and the educational system is second to none in the world. Canada has some of the lowest business taxes, there is no province sales tax on goods.
The province covers a large chunk of prairie and Rocky Mountains and its major cities are Edmonton and Calgary. Its population is 3.4million - less than half London's - and it covers an area twice as big as Japan.
The average annual salary in Alberta for civil engineers last year was £44,428. And while income tax is higher in Canada, the living costs are much cheaper. Alberta is a big province, so whereas there is hardly any snow in the south in the winter, there is plenty of opportunity in the north for skiing, snowboarding and skating.
Then in the summer there are water-based activities such as boating, fishing and whitewater rafting but also have baseball and soccer. There is also a lot of culture, if you prefer the opera, musicals or ballet. It is known as the melting pot of Canada as they have a lot of immigrants coming here. Among the different nationalities living in Alberta are Chinese, Germans, Spanish, Ukrainians and Filipinos.
Alberta's booming economy is based on having the second largest concentration of oil in the world. There are 173 billion barrels in oil sands which can be recovered with today's technology. There is also an estimated 315 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil.
Alberta officials, who are also targeting workers from Germany, America, Mexico and the Philippines, have been encouraged to focus on Britain by figures showing a record 200,000 Britons left the country for new lives abroad in 2006.
In 2006, a record 207,000 British citizens left this country. A third went to Australia or New Zealand, more than a quarter to Spain or France, and one in 12 to the United States.
Nearly 1.6 million British citizens emigrated in the decade after Labour came to power in 1997. They have been replaced by foreign workers, with the overall population increasing by more than a million in ten years. A recent survey by YouGov found 37 per cent of adults are thinking about moving abroad because of the growing financial pressure of life in this country.
More than 603,000 Britons live in Canada.
External link: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1030680/Fed-Brits-come-Canada-says-Minister-sent-lure-workers-emigrate.html
Queries to
Miss Melanie Vogel
Bonn Germany
iSC International GmbH
Online
Bonn Germany
Language knowledge: German, English
Global Management
www.Career-Journal.com
It is one of the most audacious recruitment raids since Australia poached a million Britons - known as the Ten Pound Poms after the ship fare they paid - in the 1950s and 60s. The Canadians want GPs, teachers, nurses, electricians, carpenters, engineers, construction workers, management consultants, and cardiac and diabetic specialists.
Anyone of any age can apply, although workers who fit skills and experience criteria will be fast-tracked for visas.
Somebody from London might be able to sell their small flat and come to Alberta where they can buy a detached house with a huge back yard and huge front yard for the same amount. The cost of living is considerably less than in the UK. The salaries are comparable or even higher, so anyone who moves over would be able to make money and set some aside.
The economy in Alberta - which is founded on oil reserves - was constantly growing, and has remained steady despite the global credit crunch. There is beautiful scenery, the health care system is second to none in the world and the educational system is second to none in the world. Canada has some of the lowest business taxes, there is no province sales tax on goods.
The province covers a large chunk of prairie and Rocky Mountains and its major cities are Edmonton and Calgary. Its population is 3.4million - less than half London's - and it covers an area twice as big as Japan.
The average annual salary in Alberta for civil engineers last year was £44,428. And while income tax is higher in Canada, the living costs are much cheaper. Alberta is a big province, so whereas there is hardly any snow in the south in the winter, there is plenty of opportunity in the north for skiing, snowboarding and skating.
Then in the summer there are water-based activities such as boating, fishing and whitewater rafting but also have baseball and soccer. There is also a lot of culture, if you prefer the opera, musicals or ballet. It is known as the melting pot of Canada as they have a lot of immigrants coming here. Among the different nationalities living in Alberta are Chinese, Germans, Spanish, Ukrainians and Filipinos.
Alberta's booming economy is based on having the second largest concentration of oil in the world. There are 173 billion barrels in oil sands which can be recovered with today's technology. There is also an estimated 315 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil.
Alberta officials, who are also targeting workers from Germany, America, Mexico and the Philippines, have been encouraged to focus on Britain by figures showing a record 200,000 Britons left the country for new lives abroad in 2006.
In 2006, a record 207,000 British citizens left this country. A third went to Australia or New Zealand, more than a quarter to Spain or France, and one in 12 to the United States.
Nearly 1.6 million British citizens emigrated in the decade after Labour came to power in 1997. They have been replaced by foreign workers, with the overall population increasing by more than a million in ten years. A recent survey by YouGov found 37 per cent of adults are thinking about moving abroad because of the growing financial pressure of life in this country.
More than 603,000 Britons live in Canada.
External link: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1030680/Fed-Brits-come-Canada-says-Minister-sent-lure-workers-emigrate.html
Queries to
Miss Melanie Vogel
Bonn Germany
iSC International GmbH
Online
Bonn Germany
Language knowledge: German, English
Global Management
www.Career-Journal.com
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