Kyle MacDonald knows the rhythm of the North. As a first-term councillor with the City of Dawson Creek and a local business owner, he sees the potential and the pressure points of resource-based communities firsthand. While major projects bring temporary excitement, they also highlight a persistent challenge: the gap between urban labour and rural demand.
Infrastructure under pressure
For many northern and rural areas, massive industrial projects are a double-edged sword. These developments bring a large workforce into town for a few years, but the influx puts a significant strain on local services. MacDonald, who serves as the 2nd Vice President for the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA), notes that these workers often do not lay roots, yet they rely heavily on the existing foundation of the community.
“We have infrastructure troubles, where we see these massive, major projects come through our town,” MacDonald says. He points out that while communities welcome the activity, the visitors “use our roads, they use our hospitals and everything.” Ensuring that energy, mining, and agriculture sectors can thrive requires a level of support that many small municipalities struggle to maintain under such rapid, temporary growth.
A shallow employee pool
The primary hurdle for local employers remains a lack of available people. MacDonald describes the current rural labour market as having a “very shallow employee pool.” This shortage forces business owners to rely on costly overtime, which overtaxes existing staff and limits the ability of a business to scale effectively.
The issue is not a total lack of workers, but rather their location. MacDonald suggests that the workforce is simply in the wrong place. Having owned and operated Tim Hortons franchises in Dawson Creek and Chetwynd, he understands the operational strain of a labor deficit. “I am consistently 40 to 45 people short of what I need to run my businesses successfully,” he explains.
Incentivizing the North
To solve this imbalance, MacDonald calls for a strategic mobilization of the next generation. He argues against the narrative that jobs do not exist for young people. Instead, the focus should shift toward move-to-work incentives. This includes highlighting the benefits of northern living, such as affordable housing and a high quality of life.
“We need to incentivize this next generation to go north, learn the skills, and have a great quality of life,” MacDonald says. By bridging the gap between urban talent and rural opportunity, he believes the economy can reach its full potential. A stable, local workforce allows businesses to do more for their provinces and the country at large.
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
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