When Maritimers head West

Allan Tyler was 28, in 1996, when he made the decision to move to Alberta. He had studied computer programming at Kings Tech Community College. “But when I put out applications, everyone wanted a university graduate.”

Tyler returned to college to study electronics, but again found his diploma opened few doors. “I had rejection after rejection. After a while, you begin to think something is wrong with you.”

When Tyler moved to Cold Lake, a town 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, he immediately landed him a position as a satellite technician.

That first job in the West also connected him to his future family. “I was installing a satellite system for Bernadette‘s parents. As I was working, Bernadette‘s three year old daughter, Jasmine, kept chatting with me. When I finished the installation, I was offered a cup of tea, and the little girl climbed onto my knee. We tell people that Jasmine chose me as her dad.”

Bernadette and Allan, who married in 2000, are now the parents of two more children, Denae, 7 and Wesley, 3.

Bernadette, a nursing assistant, is currently employed, but at $35 per day per child for daycare, working was impractical when Denae and Wesley were both pre-schoolers.

Allan Tyler has held nine jobs since moving to Alberta. Some were term positions; there have also been unforeseen layoffs.

His first employer, the satellite company, went bankrupt.

A position with Dell’s Edmonton call centre—a job he thought would be long-term—evaporated when Dell closed just three years after opening. “When the Canadian dollar shot up, the call centre was too costly, so they closed up shop.”

Still, Tyler describes his employment situation as “secure”—since he is certain he will never be out of work in the West. He is now employed as a project leader at the University of Alberta.

He says ‘job security’, and the family’s close relationship with Bernadette’s family, are the things that keep them there. “But we’d be very tempted if an opportunity in the East came available,” he says.

He adds the mountain are beautiful, but he misses the ocean, and the Maritime mindset. “In Alberta, everything is ‘go, go, go.’ No one wants to slow down for anything. Everything is more expensive here—groceries, homes, daycare. In Edmonton you can’t buy a home for less than $300,000. We bought southwest of Edmonton near Thorsby where homes are more affordable. My round-trip commute is three hours in the winter, about two and a half hours in the summer.”

Allan Tyler has not visited Nova Scotia since moving West, but is hoping the whole family will be able to make the trip in 2010—“if we can afford the money and the time.” * * *

Angella and Kevin Fetter’s home occupies a clearing in the woods, less than 10 kilometres from the Annapolis Basin. Though the home is filled with the chatter and antics of three growing boys, they say their life is a peaceful one.

The couple, who met and fell in love in the early nineties when they both lived in Bear River, moved to Alberta in 1994 and came home a year ago.

The Rockies are beautiful, they say, but all the time they were in the West, there was a longing for the Maritimes.

Angella and Kevin held temporary minimum wage jobs after graduating from high school and moved to Alberta when they were promised employment by the Charlton Chateau Jasper. Their jobs in housekeeping paid about $2.00 a hour more than what they earned in Nova Scotia, and at the end of the summer they received an additional $1300-$1500 in gratuities. The hotel charged a minimal amount for rent.

Six months after arriving, the couple married, and the hotel hosted their wedding for free.

The Fetters say the Charlton Chateau Jasper was a great employer, but as their family grew (Max in 1998, Sam in 2001 and Ben in 2003) staff accommodation became impractical. In 2002 they bought a mobile home near Hinton. “It was before prices skyrocketed. We were able to buy it—including the lot—for $42,000.”

When the hotel was bought out, working conditions became less desirable, and the Fetters made a decision to seek employment closer to Hinton. Again, they landed jobs in the hospitality industry.

Kevin Fetter describes life in Alberta as ‘hectic’. “You make money, but you spend it too,” he says. “In the East, if you’re lost and you ask somebody for directions, they’ll stop and help you out. There, they’re likely to just stare straight ahead. I’m not saying there aren’t friendly people in the West. There are plenty of friendly people—and most of them come from Nova Scotia.” “It’s amazing how many people from the Maritimes are out there,” he continues. “Hinton is a town of 10,000 people. I’d be at the mall, and I’d think, ‘That really looks like a guy I went to high school with.’ I’d approach him, and sure enough, it would be someone from Bear River.

Fetter says, with his parents in their 70s, and with the Alberta real estate boom contributing to their home equity, they made the decision to sell and moved back East a year ago.

They’ve bought a home and both are employed at Annapolis Basic Conference Centre, a five minute drive away.

The Fetters say their boys miss the friends they made in the West. “But they love living in the country. And they are absolutely thrilled by all the water.”