Don't Touch That Dial!: Media and the Accumulation of Social Capital Among Newfoundlanders in Fort McMurray, Alberta

Abstract

As a result of the booming oil economy in Alberta, other parts of Canada are experiencing population losses to the province. In Alberta, the financial rewards of working in the oil industry outweigh the negative aspects of the often dangerous jobs. One striking result of this internal migration is the presence of Newfoundlanders in Fort McMurray, Alberta, a town at the edge of the oil sands development. A lack of economic opportunities in Newfoundland makes Fort McMurray an attractive destination, and Newfoundlanders now make up approximately 30 percent of the city's population. The large percentage of one particular culture group in Fort McMurray has influenced many realms of the city's culture, including radio broadcasting, television, and print media. This article uses theories involving the importance of social capital, as established by Bourdieu, Coleman, and Putnam, to explore the role that these media play in establishing and maintaining social networks and social capital between Newfoundland migrants to Fort McMurray and those who remain on the island. For this research, social capital is defined as the value of being able to mobilize and maintain effective social networks so as to gain access to resources. Data were collected over two summers of fieldwork in Fort McMurray and four summers of fieldwork in Newfoundland. Using statistics from the Canadian Census and testimonials from Newfoundlanders, this article indicates that radio, television, and print media are important media through which social capital is accumulated and social networks are created.

Keywords:

• social capital
• social networking
• media
• radio
• Newfoundland
• migration

Acknowledgments

Funding to support this project was provided by grants from the Canadian Embassy in the United States and Saginaw Valley State University. The author would like to thank Craig Palmer and Emily Groom of the University of Missouri for their assistance in data collection; Melinda Clifton and Roy Lash of Saginaw Valley State University for their help with transcription; Dr. Scott Youngstedt; the reviewers, and the editors of this issue for their helpful comments that strengthened the article. Finally, the author would like to thank all those in Fort McMurray who gave their time and enthusiasm to this project, for she never tires of listening to their stories.

Notes

1. The only other provinces to have positive inter-provincial net migration were British Columbia (4673 persons), Saskatchewan (4108 persons), Yukon (126 persons) and Newfoundland and Labrador (2332 persons) (Statistics Canada 2009a).

2. Alberta's baby boom is attributed to the large number of inter-provincial migrants coming to Alberta who are of child-bearing age. In 2004, almost one-third of the children born in Alberta (29 out of 100) were born to mothers who were originally from other provinces. In the first quarter of 2010, however, Alberta's population grew by the smallest percentage since 1996, due to the low level of interprovincial migration during this time (Statistics Canada 2010c).

3. Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan, also produce oil, but they do not come close to Alberta in total production. In 2006, Newfoundland and Labrador's crude oil production was 12 percent of the national total, and Saskatchewan's was 17 percent, while Alberta's crude oil production was 68 percent. The remaining 3 percent came from other parts of Canada (Statistics Canada 2007b).

4. In 2005, 42 percent of Alberta's manufacturers reported a shortage of skilled labor (Statistics Canada 2007c, 324).

5. Although Newfoundland and Labrador lost more people to Alberta than to any other province, the drop in number between 2005/2006 and 2007/2008, coupled with the positive net migration in 2007/2008, indicates that perhaps fewer people are leaving Newfoundland. Furthermore, in 2007/2008, Alberta lost more than 4000 people to Newfoundland (Statistics Canada 2009e), indicating perhaps a trend in return migration to the island. More longitudinal data is needed, however, before concrete conclusions can be drawn.

6. Median income totals in Newfoundland and Labrador for 2005 do not reflect the income gap between St. John's and rural communities, where income levels fall far below the median. Rural communities in Newfoundland have seen more out-migration due to lack of employment opportunities. For comparison, the national median income in 2005 was $57,700 (Statistics Canada 2007e, 270).

7. Although we can assume that most of those moving to Alberta from Newfoundland are part of the working-age population, statistics on the working-age population, and the age, sex, and region of Newfoundland from where migrants originated is not yet available to researchers.

8. Despite this continuing trend toward negative out-migration, Newfoundland and Labrador saw a positive net migration in 2009 for the first time since 1972 (Statistics Canada 2009f). It will take a number of years, however, to determine if the positive net-migration continues, or if the general trend over time is towards negative net migration.

9. This research raises some substantive research questions about income flow to the island and the importance that money plays in Newfoundland communities. Unfortunately, data about how much income comes to the island from Alberta Newfoundlanders, to whom it goes, and how current flows of money are different from historical precedents is not available. Such information would certainly provide a more robust picture of the income flow phenomenon.

10. This article also draws from fieldwork I did in Fort McMurray during the Summer of 2009, and four summers of fieldwork in Newfoundland on radio broadcasting and cultural identity.

11. I suspect that, due to the number of Newfoundlanders living in Fort McMurray, NTV is part of the standard cable package in that region because the cable package offered by the hotel where I stayed included NTV.

12. One could argue that the chat feature on Facebook allows for immediate and interactive information exchange, but the rest of Facebook's features come with lag time that, while not as significant as waiting for a newspaper subscription, is still slower than a phone call.