On repopulation

Last year I noted that some towns in the American midwest have implemented programs where houses are effectively given away to potential residents. Now Yorkton mayor Phil DeVos is suggesting that the same be done in Saskatchewan:

The mayor of Yorkton and vice-president of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association wants to see young families move out of the inner cities and fill up the empty two- and three-bedroom bungalows in small rural towns surrounding Yorkton...

"We have an abundance of little towns around us," he said. "So, we started doing an analysis of how many houses they had for sale. We have an abundance of nice little three-bedroom bungalows, 900 square feet, and nice little communities. These houses sell from $1,000 to $5,000.

"So, our idea is let's just say that we have 100 houses and let's say it is $1,000 for each house. For $100,000 we can go and buy all these houses. The plan is to go out to some of these areas around the world ... and resell these houses to people with families for a toonie.

"For $2, we aren't going to make any money off the houses. The reality is that you don't make the money off the houses. You don't make money off of property taxes. You sustain yourself. Where the money comes in is when you put somebody in the house, they get a job, and they pay your property taxes. They continue to contribute to your economy and then you get more taxes off the businesses."

I'd noted earlier that the idea may well be one worth pursuing here, and it appears that at least some people in a position to make the idea happen have caught on. As DeVos acknowledges, it'll also take added employment opportunities to entice a large number of people to move toward rural areas...but another step to make rural Saskatchewan all the more affordable has to be a plus in the effort.