More Noise About Saskatchewan

The cover story of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business this weekend was The New 'It' Province. Referring to Saskatchewan, the article goes on to talk about how Saskatchewan is about a lot more than wheat these days. The focus on the article was primarily on potash, oil and gas, and the rising population. You can read the whole article here.

At first blush, you might be tempted to think that the boom is only affecting natural resource based industries. After all, the money seems to be flowing in from oil and gas exploration and expansion in areas such as potash. But don't kid yourself into thinking that the only people that stand to benefit are the natural resource companies and the labourers that pull the stuff out of the ground.

Remember, those companies will also need accountants, sales reps, marketing managers, and HR personnel. And since those companies are set to do so well financially, they might just be able to pay quality dollars to attract quality people. But the impact won't stop there.

As more jobs are created, it is natural for more inmigration to occur. That means more construction and more growth. Home owners in Saskatchewan are already starting to realize the equity in their homes since the economy has started to soar. And when more money and growth starts to infuse the Saskatchewan market, that means people will have cash to spend on other things - perhaps they'll even buy something that you sell!

Last year we already started to recruit people from outside the province to come join us in the good times Saskatchewan is experiencing through Think Regina in Calgary. Next week Think Regina heads to Edmonton to continue the campaign.

As the article states, Saskatchewan's time is now. You're either in or you're in the way.

I also liked what NewsTalk 980's Dave Arnold had to say this morning (rough paraphase) - if people keep hearing these good things about Saskatchewan, they might not be able to ignore us any longer.

Happy boom time Saskatchewan!

Saskatchewan Bound

LRS Consulting's Sean Stefan and his wife Katlyn were featured in the Calgary Sun on Saturday. You can view the slideshow that went along with the article on the Calgary Sun website here, featuring Premier Lorne Calvert and other Saskatchewan residents, including Sean.

The article is reproduced below, as written by Bill Kaufmann of the Calgary Sun. You can also read it at the Sun website.

Duo moves on to greener greens
UPDATED: 2007-10-06 03:56:05 MST

By BILL KAUFMANN, CALGARY SUN


REGINA -- He's a billboard boy for Regina's prodigal sons and doesn't regret the face time.

Even leading the good life in Calgary's backyard mountain playground wasn't enough to keep Sean Stefan from heading back to his Saskatchewan home town and urging others to do the same in larger-than-life fashion.

A job emceeing a Think Regina event targeting his province's ex-pats in Calgary last May drew the attention of provincial officials seeking a human face for its headhunting forays in Alberta and other provinces.

On billboards posted all over Calgary and Edmonton, a beaming Stefan reaches for a putter amid the come-on "the morning drive in Saskatchewan," mocking the commuting headaches in the Alberta cities.

"I've grown up around golf my whole life," says Stefan, 22, a member of the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority. He was told to be at a Regina golf course at 6 a.m. to exploit the soft natural lighting that graces the Saskjobs.com billboard.

"Now I get Facebook messages and e-mails and phone calls just about every second day from people who see me on their drive ... but we like it here so I don't mind it."

In 2005, Regina native Stefan worked in the pro shop of the Kananaskis Country Golf Course while living near the slopes of Mt. Nakiska.


But he and wife Katlyn -- who was attending college in her hometown of Red Deer -- had come to a crossroads, wondering about their futures while resisting the notion of living in Alberta's bigger cities.

They were living in Regina after Katlyn had transferred to that city's university "and we had to decide whether we'd go back to Alberta or stay here," says Sean.

Added Katlyn: "There's no way I wanted to go to Calgary or Edmonton -- it's too big for me.

"I didn't know anyone in Regina but they convinced me." Last February, the couple was able to purchase a mid-1970s-vintage, 1,100 sq.-ft. bungalow in Regina's northwest Normanview West area for $169,000 -- about half the price they'd pay in Calgary.

At that time, friends thought they'd made a mistake in paying the asking price for the home, but since Regina's real-estate market has taken off, the sentiment's reversed to the incredulous 'you got your house for the asking price?' " says Sean, while relaxing on his backyard deck.

Sean is now employed by his father's marketing firm, working with restaurant clients as far away as Hamilton, while Katlyn majors in accounting at the University of Regina.

"For that job, I get paid in Toronto dollars but pay Saskatchewan bills," he says.

"It's not too expensive here that you have to be part of the elite to do things."

Regina, he says, is small enough that young people like him are able to make a difference they couldn't in a place like Calgary.

"I'm able to work on boards with the mayor, to have a real impact," he says.

While there's "no replacing the mountains," the couple realized during their stay in Alberta they were too busy working to fully enjoy the Rockies' splendour.

"When we visited the mountains, we saw more and did more in six days than we did in all our time living there," he says.

Sean said he has no illusions about the ultimate power of billboards and headhunting sessions.

"You can't pull the wool over peoples' eyes and talk people into coming back to Saskatchewan," he says. "What we do will make people want to know more about it."

When asked about Reginians' perception of Calgary, Katlyn says some views die hard at her adopted city's expense.

"It seems the place where everyone wants to go to make more money -- some of the kids think Regina is a bit of a dead end," she says.

But her husband insists a revival of Regina pride and economic fortune is real.

And the cost of playing a beloved round of golf at the province's best courses is only about $60, he adds.

"Compared to Alberta, that's basically a two-for-one special every day," he says.