TORONTO - A great article on East Coast Connected story ran in the Globe and Mail today. This article captures the challenges of Atlantic Canada's brain drain and how East Coast Connected's approach to "brain circulation" is engaging Atlantic Canadians in the region, whether they're at home or away.

The article cites several studies which indicate a migration of young people from the Atlantic provinces, and the steps taken by the provinces to stem the flow with marketing campaigns and career fairs. "There are many who have moved away because of economic circumstance or the fact that maybe there wasn't a job in their field," the Honourable Greg Byrne (MLA Fredericton-Lincoln, New Brunswick) explains. "They want the opportunity to return, and they will return if we create the opportunity for them."

East Coast Connected's core principle is what is known as "brain circulation", where technology, events and programs are utilized to encourage Atlantic expatriates based in Toronto to maintain business and cultural ties back home.

Explains ECC President Chris Crowell, himself a transplant from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia: "The main point is to keep them involved in the region whether they live here or not." The Hon. Scott Brison (MP Kings-Hants, Nova Scotia) agrees, stating "We are a region that has spawned some of the greatest entrepreneurs internationally and nationally. And those people have a strong loyalty to the region."

This article is available on G&M's print version of the Friday, April 11th edition.