Publication showcasing immigrant entrepreneurs on PEI officially launched
A landmark publication compiled by two UPEI researchers showcasing immigrant entrepreneurs on Prince Edward Island, was officially launched recently by the Honourable Alan Campbell, Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning.
The full-colour publication, titled Immigrant Entrepreneurs on Prince Edward Island, illustrates the personal stories, challenges and satisfactions of some 60 immigrants to PEI who have opened and currently operate their own businesses. It is the work of Dr Godfrey Baldacchino, Canada Research Chair (Island Studies) at UPEI, in collaboration with Crystal MacAndrew Fall, a graduate student who is researching immigrant entrepreneurship as her thesis topic, a component of her Master of Arts (Island Studies) at UPEI.
"The showcased entrepreneurs represent some of the vibrant cultural and business diversity that is enriching the island province", explains Dr. Baldacchino. "Some of them have targeted PEI specifically as a base because of both the benefits that it provides to start up businesses, as well as the envious quality of life it offers to families. Unlike most immigrants to PEI, entrepreneurs tend to settle down and stay on the Island, contributing to the long-term development of the province."
Dr. Baldacchino has already completed three other province-based research assignments related to migration issues over the past few years. He has also coordinated the setting up of a Migration Research Cluster at UPEI, with a clutch of social scientists from various disciplines--history, economics, sociology, anthropology and literature--who are aligned to support any research that the province may require as it unfolds its migration retention and repatriation strategy.
The new publication, for which the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada acted as local community partner, has been financed largely by the PEI Government's Population Secretariat, with additional support coming from the Rural Secretariat of Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, the UPEI School of Business, the Social Economy and Sustainability Network and the Atlantic Metropolis Centre. Copies can be obtained at no cost from Island Information Services, Jones Building, or from the Population Secretariat at PopulationSecretariat@gov.pe.ca or (902) 620-3656.
