Nova Scotia: Dozen Responses and Cape Breton

nova scotia: Of course, Canada has a lot of land, but not a lot of people, and economically sleepy regions like Cape Breton in Nova Scotia have steadily leaked population, according to Hamilton Spectator. The island, a scenic 4,000-square-mile patch of rolling forest and farmland jutting into the northern Atlantic Ocean, has only about 130,000 residents and has been losing well over 1,000 people a year for the last two decades. The family expected a few dozen responses; more than 50,000 poured in — and the calls keep coming. "I expected a response, just not one as huge as this," said Sandee Mac Lean, a woman with multiple tattoos and copper red hair, who came up with the idea with her sister. As Cape Bretoners become increasingly frantic about stemming the tide of outward migration, giving away land just might be a solution. "It is validation that land is an attraction," said Chris van den Heuvel, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. Several economically depressed communities in the United States have tried the same idea in recent years, including towns in Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota. He hopes the strong response to the giveaway will help his group effort to create a land bank that would make farmland affordable and bring newcomers to the province. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.