PEI kiosk encourages French and Belgians to move to Island

PARIS, France - Back from France and Belgium where he met hundreds of people during the Destination Canada job fair, Mathieu Arsenault is confident his promotional efforts there encouraged some to eventually settle on Prince Edward Island.
His mission was fairly simple: speak about P.E.I. and what it has to offer in order to entice job fair participants to move here. The economic development officer for RDÉE Prince Edward Island was invited to attend the fair by the provincial government.
He noticed a healthy level of interest in P.E.I., especially among those who wanted to settle down in small communities, close to the sea. Many of them had families; most spoke several languages.
"It was a very positive and beneficial experience," concluded Arsenault.
The Destination Canada fair made a first stop in Paris, France, then made its way to Brussels, Belgium. A total of 500 people were pre-selected each day to attend the fair; it was only open to people who are seriously considering moving to Canada.
Twice a day, each of the 10 participating provinces and two participating territories gave a three-minute presentation. Then, fair-goers could circulate among the booths to learn more about the provinces that interested them.
The P.E.I. kiosk focused primarily on education and the employment opportunities that exist in this field.
Arsenault estimates that each day of the fair, he and Nancy DesRosiers from the P.E.I. Department of Education had a chance to chat about the Island with about 100 visitors. Among these were experienced teachers, nurses and aeronautics engineers, as well as others with various areas of expertise.