"I think now, more than ever, there’s opportunity to work...in smaller communities...It’s worth taking a leap of faith."

For decades, statisticians have been predicting the death of the small town. The exodus of young people in search of opportunity in cities meant that small, rural communities were getting smaller and smaller. Lately, thanks in part to sky-high urban real estate prices and more remote work opportunities, that trend seems to be reversing.

Recent statistics show younger Canadians are not flocking to urban centres like they once were. In fact, a new report from Statistics Canada shows that in 2019 and 2020, a record number of young people moved from urban areas to smaller communities. Many of those people, like Castor’s Dane Jackson, have chosen to return to the rural community where they grew up and launch their careers in their hometowns.

At 30 Jackson left his hometown of Castor to complete his electrician’s ticket. He studied at NAIT and apprenticed in Stettler. Traditionally, young people like Dane would have taken those credentials straight to the city in search of opportunity. For Dane, it was opportunity that brought him back home to Castor.

“A lot of the electricians in the area were on their way out. A lot of them were older and retiring,” said Dane. “My dad, who's an electrician as well said ‘there’s work out here, you’ve just got to take the risk.’” 

And that’s what Dane did. He returned to Castor, started working and the work just kept coming. Then, at the start of 2020, Dane took an even bigger risk, taking over Castor Sheet Metal, a second-generation local business that had been in operation since 1957. The shop, which Dane rebranded as Dark Knight Electric, offers electrical, plumbing and gas fitting services, and has a sheet metal fabrication shop and storefront with equipment rental services. 

Taking on an established business was a steep learning curve for Dane, who had previously worked out of his garage to offer his electrical services. That curve was made even steeper by the fact that Dane decided to do his plumbing and gas fitting apprenticeships at the same time. Fortunately, Dane had the opportunity to work with the previous owner of the shop, Brian Fiss, prior to taking over in 2020.

“I learned a lot from Brian. When you step into a new industry, and it takes time to get a feel for everything, right? Working with Brian really helped with the finer details of everything because he’d been doing this around here for many, many years,” says Dane. “He knew whose house was whose and what kind of furnace was in there. He knew the history behind it.” 

Dane says his knowledge isn’t quite as encyclopedic as Brian’s, but he’s surprised how much he remembers about the work he’s done for customers.

“I don't know how it is that I can't remember my sister's birthday, but I can go to a job and know exactly what we did there and where the line is buried,” jokes Dane. “It just gets ingrained in you for some reason.”

It’s the kind of knowledge that can only happen in a smaller community, says Dane, who was born and raised in Castor. He talks about other benefits of life in a small town too. The slower pace of life, people stopping by just to shoot the breeze, knowing everyone so that a trip to the grocery store is a social outing, for example. “You get to have a personal relationship with a lot of people because we all know each other and we're comfortable. It's just kind of friendly like that.”

That way of life is important to Dane, who believes strongly in the economic and social opportunities that small towns can offer younger people. “I think now, more than ever, there’s opportunity to work remotely and work in smaller communities. It’s a more viable option these days,” says Dane. “It’s worth taking a leap of faith.”