Entered by: Visages régionaux

In 2024, Baie-James was facing a dual challenge: persistent labour shortages and demographic decline. Located in Northern Québec, Canada, the 225,000 km² territory (almost the size of the United Kingdom) brings together seven towns spread across vast distances. And although the region attracted newcomers, it had one of Québec’s most negative net migration balances, continually losing population.

In a territory where fly-in fly-out employment is common, Baie-James’s challenge was not only to attract workers, but to inspire people and families to settle permanently and contribute to community vitality, especially as more employers turned to international recruitment.