Lunenburg County wants you
No Starbucks in area of Nova Scotia with 47,000 people, but oceanfront home costs $250,000
The cute and curvy little 1976 Boler camper parked in downtown Kelowna is shrink-wrapped with images of the Atlantic Ocean, a golf course and industrious people at work. It also screams: Now Lunenburg County, and Create a Life You Love in Lunenburg County.
“We’re not being subtle,” said Tina Hennigar of Now Lunenburg County.
“We want people to move from Kelowna to Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. Other campaigns haven’t worked, so we’re on the road this summer, getting in people’s faces and telling them why they should move to Lunenburg County.”
On July 20, Now Lunenburg County started its Alberta and British Columbia promotional road show in Edmonton.
From there, the Boler camper, stuffed with information on Lunenburg County and decorated with curtains and cushions of anchor-festooned fabric, hit Banff, Jasper and Canmore.
The camper rolled into Kelowna Thursday as the first B.C. stop and was parked on Abbott Street, half a block from The Sails sculpture in front of City Park.
Soon enough, the camper started catching the eye of passersby and people were stopping to see what was going on, chat and pick up some information.
“The beginning of the job is piquing people’s interest,” said Andrew Button of Now Lunenburg County.
“You can only do so much with social media and advertising. Then it’s time to meet people face to face on a cool tour.”
Lunenburg County is the oceanside area an hour’s drive south of Halifax with a population of 47,000.
It’s made up of the town of Lunenburg and four other main communities: Bridgewater, Mahone Bay, Chester and Hebbville.
While it offers an incredible laid-back Atlantic lifestyle, Lunenburg County has a labour shortage.
Young people tend not to stick around and it’s not really on the radar for people looking to move for a job or an active lifestyle.
Now Lunenburg County hopes to change all that with this Western Canada swing.
“In honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial, we’d like to see 150 families move to Lunenburg County as a result of this effort,” said Hennigar.
“This is an audacious recruitment campaign.”
The Now Lunenburg County promotional push was put together by six community leaders who wanted to see the area grow with an influx of workers, entrepreneurs and investment.
No government money is being used for the campaign.
Funding has come from the Lunenburg County Community Fund and the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia.
Corporate sponsors like Bank of Montreal and Advocate Media (the publisher of 11 community newspapers in the area) were lined up, and a Ford dealership provided the Escape SUV to tow the Boler camper. Petro-Canada
came to the table to gas up the vehicle for the entire trip.
Lunenburg County’s three biggest employers are finding it difficult to recruit and keep workers.
They are the Michelin Tire factory, which employs 1,200, and the Highliner fish processing plant and aircraft-parts maker Stelia Aerospace, with workforces of 350 each.
As well, numerous smaller companies are looking to hire.
And the county always welcomes entrepreneurs who want to start new companies, invest in the community and hire.
“We’re really honest in that Lunenburg County is not for everyone,” said Hennigar.
“We offer up a slower pace of life, incredible beaches, ocean, lakes and rivers and a caring community. There’s no nightlife, but Halifax is only an hour away. And there’s no Starbucks, but you can certainly find amazing independent cafes. There’s no public transit, but, then again, there’s no traffic, so you can get everywhere you’re going quickly.”
If you want to sell your house in Kelowna for $700,000, you can replace it in Lunenburg County for about $150,000.
Spend $100,000 more and you can get oceanfront property.
Hennigar and Button were also quick to bust the myth about Atlantic Canada’s brutal winters.
“We’re moderated by the ocean, so the worst of winter is January to mid-March,” said Button.
“And when it does snow, it’s cleared from the roads right away.”
Lunenburg County has wineries, just like the Okanagan, and a burgeoning distilling and craft beer scene.
In fact, after speaking with Hennigar, she gave me a Jeezus Murphy Irish Red Ale from Saltbox Brewing Co. to take home to enjoy.
The Now Lunenburg County road show next heads to Whistler before hitting Vancouver and then returning to Kelowna and Vernon.
People can get more information at NowLunenburgCounty.com.
That’s also where you can fill out a ballot to win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the county.