Engage Nova Scotia starts conversation about being young and staying put

Danny Graham has been dropping into the Mainstreet studio each week to talk about some of the results of a province-wide survey Engage Nova Scotia commissioned last year.

Among other things, it asked 1,000 people to rate Nova Scotia as a place to live on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being excellent and one being poor.

He observes that people in the Halifax Regional Municipality are less enthusiastic about the province — based on the number of people in metro who rated Nova Scotia an eight, nine or 10 compared to the rest of Nova Scotia.

He notes that HRM has a younger population than the rest of the province and younger people were generally less likely to give our province top marks.

The first voice you'll hear in the audio below is Mainstreet host Bob Murphy. Then Danny talks about the survey results, and things we can do to better engage younger people in our communities — both the ones who are born and raised here, and the international students who come to study.

Danny is the chief engagement officer at Engage Nova Scotia, a lawyer, and a member of the oneNS Coalition.

Mainstreet NS8:43people 18-34, and metro, showin' Nova Scotia less love

In the third in a series of conversations, Mainstreet host Bob Murphy asks Danny Graham of Engage Nova Scotia about a survey that asked a thousand people to rate this province as a place to live.

Bob also spoke with four Nova Scotians between the ages of 24 and 36 to find out why they chose to make their futures here.

Laura Swaine is the executive director of Heartwood. It works on community engagement and leadership, across the province, with young people aged 14 and up.

Jaime Battiste works for the provincial government and Mi'kmaq chiefs, creating relationships and raising awareness about treaties and Mi'kmaq perspectives on history.

Wes Booth founded We Are NS and a campaign called Bluenoser By Choice.

Zabrina Whitman is a Mi'kmaq senior policy analyst.

Mainstreet NS14:09Nova Scotians aged 24-36 talk about making a future here

Bob Murphy interviews Laura Swaine from Heartwood, Jaime Battiste from Eskasoni, Wes Booth from We Are NS, and Mi'kmaw Senior Policy Analyst Zabrina Whitman.

Mainstreet also recorded this conversation in which Bob turned off his microphone, and Zabrina, Wes, Jaime, and Laura talked among themselves. The first voice is Wes.

Mainstreet NS10:58Bob turns off his microphone and his guests talk to each other

Listen in as Laura Swaine from Heartwood, Jaime Battiste from Eskasoni, Wes Booth from We Are NS, and Mi'kmaw Senior Policy Analyst Zabrina Whitman talk among themselves. The first voice is Wes.

We received a number of calls and emails about this — you can hear them in this audio file, and then Bob asks Danny to respond to some of them.

Mainstreet NS6:33Listeners have their say about prospects for young people in NS

Mainstreet host Bob Murphy plays a couple of calls we received, gets Danny Graham's perspective, and then reads an email from a listener.

We welcome more of your opinions on this. Dial the Main Line at 1-888-686-6246. Or send a note to [email protected].