You are encouraged to attend the defence. The details of the defence and attendance information is included below:  

Date:  June 6, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PT)

Defence mode: Hybrid
In-Person Attendance: Senate Chambers, UNBC Prince George Campus  
Virtual Attendance: via Zoom 

LINK TO JOIN: Please contact the Office of Graduate Administration for information regarding remote attendance for online defences.   

To ensure the defence proceeds with no interruptions, please mute your audio and video on entry and do not inadvertently share your screen. The meeting will be locked to entry 5 minutes after it begins: please ensure you are on time.  

 Thesis entitled: RURAL YOUTH MIGRATION PLANNING: THE COMPLEX STORY IN TUMBLER RIDGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA

 Abstract: Rural and small-town places across Canada have been undergoing rapid sociodemographic and economic changes since the early 1980s. These changes are the product of the 1980s recession which fostered neoliberal public policies that reduced the role of the state and effectively shifted government initiatives away from community-building. Many communities in northern BC were originally developed to house the working families of the post-war natural resource economy. Since then, service infrastructure has aged, the original workforce is retiring, and many youth and young families have migrated out of these communities. In the context of a changing rural, out-migration of local youth and little in-migration of young people has long been identified as a pressing issue. My research explored the migration plans of senior high school students through a mixed methods exploratory case study of Tumbler Ridge, BC. The focus was exploring senior high school students’ feelings about staying, leaving, or returning to their community, and what factors contribute to those decisions. Economic opportunities are often assumed to be the most significant factor in youth migration planning, but my findings speak to differences in youth’s priorities. While education and employment were the drivers of youth out-migration, quality of life and sense of place were the most significant factors in determining where youth planned to migrate, and why. My research broadens the dialogue on what rural youth are seeking in their communities.

Defence Committee:  
Chair: Dr. Kevin Hutchings, University of Northern British Columbia  
Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth, University of Northern British Columbia  
Committee Member: Dr. Angele Smith, University of Northern British Columbia  
Committee Member: Dr. Sarah-Patricia Breen, Selkirk College
External Examiner: Dr. Karen Foster, Dalhousie University