Frankie Morrrison of New Waterford has watched the population of his once-thriving Cape Breton mining town dwindle by half over three decades.
And he's seen it shrink even more quickly in the past few years with the advent of the construction boom in the oil sands, as the male population heads west for work.
"You've got all sorts of families in town being brought up by their mother," he says.
"On the other side, what the hell do you do?
"They got all new cars and new trucks now.
"It's just like they're back in the mines and making money."
Mr. Morrison joined the parade himself once but came back, although two of his three children have moved to Alberta.
"Most of them don't like it out there, but the money is too friggin' good," he says of the people who've left.
"If it wasn't there, it'd be a helluva lot worse," he adds.
"Everyone [here] would be on social assistance."
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