Opportunities for work abound on Island

Creating jobs for Islanders - 

Since moving back home to Prince Edward Island, builder Matt Darrach hasn't been able to keep up with the demand for the energy-efficient homes that his company produces.

He lived and worked in western Canada and “commuted” between Prince Edward Island and Alberta for several years, but he decided to return home when it was time to build his own family. He said he was pleased with the business climate he found.

Together, Matt and his wife Cheryl operate PEI Low Energy Homes – building energy-efficient housing for a range of clients.

“There’s so much work on Prince Edward Island - so many people could find jobs and businesses here,” he said. “Honestly the demand is so high that I can’t meet it. There’s room for other companies.”

Darrach’s family moved to Edmonton (from PEI) when he was 14 but they made regular visits to the Island. It was those visits that eventually led to Matt developing a relationship with a childhood friend – now his wife, Cheryl. Moving back home made sense for both of them.

“I went to high school in the (Edmonton) downtown and I wanted something different for my kids,” he said. “I saw things that someone living on PEI would probably only see on TV; there were drug busts, there were murder scenes in my neighbourhood.”

Darrach said anyone moving to Prince Edward Island for work shouldn’t expect everyday life here to be like a two-week beach holiday, but he said there is work for the dedicated and the capable.

“People have an impression that the job market and wages are so much better out west,” he said, “but really once you get outside of the oil patch things aren’t that different there than here in terms of wages and living costs.

If you’re willing to put in the hours to build a career -- and especially if you have a trade -- there are jobs for you here.

“The beaches will still be all around you when you take your time off.”