Features Business & Policy Business Management
New Focus on Rural Ontario fact sheets

“Almost all rural census divisions lost young adults (18-24 year olds) as young people move to attend post-secondary education,” said Norman Ragetlie, director of policy and stakeholder engagement at the Rural Ontario Institute. “What may be surprising is that more than half of the metro and partially metro census divisions were also net losers of young people. Only places with at least one large post-secondary institution gained people in this age group. What I think many rural stakeholders will be interested in looking at is whether or not young adults return after they are educated. This data shows that some places are doing better than others on that front.”

Ragetlie continues, “It’s the 45-64 demographic that is moving in and out of non-metro counties the most,” continued Ragetlie. “These ’empty nesters’ are showing the most mobility and some of the province’s larger metropolitan areas are showing a net loss of this age group. The fact sheets don’t tell us why they are moving – only how many and where they are going. We can speculate that they may be motivated to cash in on real estate price differences, integrate into communities they intend to retire in, or to downsize and make lifestyle changes.”
 
These Focus on Rural Ontario fact sheets are based on Statistics Canada data and are the fourth of a six-part series. The series profiles key facts and figures on population change, immigration/migration patterns, youth employment  and economic trends. The Rural Ontario Institute commissioned this series to help build understanding of key demographic and economic trends affecting this huge region of the province.
 
All Focus on Rural Ontario fact sheets are available for download at http://ruralontarioinstitute.ca/focus-on-rural-ontario.aspx.