The peninsula’s fisheries, which have long been the main source of employment, are now in serious decline. Currently, Atlantic Minerals - which extracts limestone and dolomite – in addition to the area’s schools, are among the only viable sources of employment. Due to a lack of education opportunities, a large majority of Port-au-Port’s young adults are leaving the area for post-secondary studies, and many aren’t returning. For those who do return, they often times become part of the ‘fly in fly out’ community, traveling back and forth between the peninsula and other areas such as St. John’s and Alberta for work. This phenomenon is not new to the area since a similar lifestyle emanated from the fisheries. However, those that fly in and fly out return to the community with large earnings and benefit from low taxes, low cost of housing and the quality of life provided by the natural beauty of the surrounding area. The municipality of Cap-St-Georges has therefore decided that it would be wise for its sustainability and development to adopt a strategy that caters to a large extent to this clientele in the hopes that they will return, live, spend their dollars and retire in the community. Essential to this strategy is the development of the community’s infrastructure. Council members have been keen on finding ways of developing their community’s infrastructure through provincial grants and other sources of funding and they are succeeding. For example, they are building a new multi-purpose centre and have renewed their water system.
There have been talks of bringing in oil extraction to the area, which would bring in more people and more income. Some exploration was done but it’s been very slow to start. Other than this potential prospect, there aren’t many other economic opportunities within the region at the moment. And with many migrant workers in the area, it has also been difficult to build a strong sense of community.
