The question, Alex, is “What is St. John’s”.
That, of course, would be the answer if you were a contestant on Jeopardy. However, if you were giving the punchline to a joke, the answer would be Fort McMurray. With the outward migration to the boomtown oil fields of Alberta, this is an emotional reality to many Newfoundland families. I was reminded of this fact as I read my CBC.ca news feeds today. I get several feeds from CBC: a national feed, a New Brunswick feed, and a Newfoundland feed. I found it very interesting to see the following headline on my Newfoundland feed.
This headline wasn’t on my New Brunswick feed nor was it on my Canadian national feed. It turns out that this is becoming a problem as Newfoundlanders are coaxing their elderly parents to come join them in their new homes out west. “Why are you here all alone, Mom, with all of those expenses? Why don’t you come to Fort McMurray and live with us?”
Let’s hope that the soon-to-be-booming Newfoundland economy will support an eastward migrating repatriation. I wouldn’t be heartbroken if my family and I went along for the ride.
