Jen and I began working on a research project today, looking into the challenges that youth in rural Ontario encounter on a daily basis--the challenges that make life more difficult, the opportunities to which they don't have access because of their location, and the driving forces behind their mass migration to the GTA and other urban centres. I thought that it would really connect with my experience growing up on Prince Edward Island, a whole province smaller than some of Ontario's "small towns."

But after some thinking, some research, and thoroughly interviewing one rural Ontarian, all the research has done is reinforce just how different the island experience is versus that of rural areas. A friend once told me that while researching crime statistics, the cross-Canada data had been divided into three categories: urban; rural; and PEI. And after a year of studying small islands at school, the reasons behind this distinction are becoming more and more clear.

Growing up on PEI, I lived in a "city" of about 15-20,000, pretty small by nearly anyone's standards. But talking to people from the mainland, I've come to realise that in this tiny town, we had more or less the same level of services as an Ontario town five times that size. Even though the whole province is smaller than a lot of Ontario towns, we have a level of services equivalent to a lot of the larger towns and cities in Ontario.

Why? Largely because we're an island. Island, because of their isolation, tend to have a higher level of service per capita than mainland regions of an equivalent size. While a rural Ontarian can generally drive for a few hours and get to a relatively major centre (think about 'major' from the perspective of someone who's largest city was one of about 40,000), an Islander could quite possibly have no feasible access to anything off island. For most of the 20th century, PEI only had ferry access to the mainland, a service that could be very easily disrupted. Before the 'new' more reliable ferries, the problem was even worse. So Islanders grew up, and developed a society, in relative isolation from the mainland. We had all the necessities, from health care services to retail shops. Everything we needed was readily available. Of course, we didn't have the selection or variety of a huge megacity, but there was little need to leave the Island--and many Islanders never did.

When we got bridged with the mainland in 1997, many people feared that this would end. But the Island economy has grown to new highs since the bridge opened. A more reliable link to the mainland has increased tourism, brought new industries, and brought us many services that didn't exist on PEI beforehand. Yes, this has meant many national or multi-national chains like Walmart, Future Shop and Home Depot, but it has been an increase in selection and variety nonetheless.

One of the consequences of having more options and a full array of services available: youth aren't leaving nearly as fast. This really struck me when we interviewed our rural Ontarian today. He had a real sense of needing to leave his community to do anything for his life--he really didn't feel as though he had any options at all. Island youth, from my perspective and without any hard facts, seem to be staying in much greater numbers. There's still some leaving, many even. But there are many who never leave, and even more who leave and come back. More and more, I'm thinking I'll be one of the latter. I've already left PEI and moved back, and am thinking that I will eventually do so again. I don't see any reason not to--with a good link to the mainland and a good IT infrastructure, there's no reason I can't do nearly anything I want from PEI, and probably enjoy a better quality of life than I could afford in Toronto.

Another benefit that we have on PEI is that the entire province faces the problem of outward migration, so it is a provincial priority. There are many, many incentives to stay on PEI. In Ontario, I doubt that the same is true: with some of Canada's largest centres located in this province, the small towns mean less and less important to the overall economy and the incentives to preserve them simply are there.

I'm not sure what the youth of rural Ontario, or other parts of the country or the world can do, but I do hope that they can find a way to make in a living and enjoy life in their hometowns, if that's the path they choose. And I'm glad to be from a province where I believe that that is a distinct possibility. And now it's time to write a paper. :)