'Hey Alberta, no!': Chatham-Kent goes on the defensive against campaign luring workers to the west
In response to Alberta ads encouraging Ontario residents to head west — the Municipality of Chatham-Kent has launched a counter campaign reminding local workers how good they have it in Southwestern Ontario.
“It's meant to be a fun thing to say, ‘no hang on! Chatham-Kent has everything and I believe more,” Mayor Darrin Canniff told CTV News Thursday.
The municipality has launched “Why CK” as a result of radio ads now being broadcast on local radio stations.
“I heard it, I'm thinking, ‘is this an advertisement for Ontario and Chatham Kent?’” Canniff said when he first found out about the ad campaign.
Earlier this month, Alberta rolled out phase two of their “Alberta is Calling” campaign in nine Ontario municipalities including Windsor and Chatham.
“They’ll see transit ads, billboards (and) they're going to hear radio ads,” Brian Jean, Alberta’s minister of jobs, economy and northern development, said at a news conference on March 13. “We targeted these (municipalities) because of the high unemployment, but also because of the type of skilled trades they have.”
Jean said at the time the government is spending $5 million on the campaign to lure workers from Ontario and the Maritimes to move to Alberta for a new career and a new life.
“We have nearly 100,000 rewarding jobs ready and available in a variety of high demand sectors, including skilled trades, health care, accounting, engineering, technology, but also in the service and tourism sector,” said Jean.
He said phase one of the campaign — in summer 2022 — lured nearly 33,000 people to move to Alberta.
“We have an excellent quality of life and an affordable lifestyle in every corner of this great and amazing province,” said Jean.
“We're looking (at the campaign) and saying, ‘hang on here. We have all those opportunities,’” said Canniff. “Every opportunity mentioned in there — we have those opportunities too.”
Canniff won’t say how much their commercial cost to produce or broadcast but did say it’s nowhere near the $5 million Alberta is spending across Canada.
Canniff noted the weather here is far better than the west, using Edmonton as an example.
”If you look at their average low for the year is -1C,” said Canniff. “So if you like cold temperatures, Alberta might be for you.”
While conceding Alberta does have the Rocky Mountains, Canniff noted no matter where you live in Chatham-Kent, you’re only 20 minutes from a beach.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.