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“We started shedding jobs long before the recession. It has got worse since the recession and it hasn’t come back,” says political scientist Cristine de Clercy at Western University.

When towns lose their manufacturing sector their economies become less diverse and less able to adapt to changing times. “There will be a tipping point, when all of a sudden politicians will come to a realization: Wow! It’s a large problem!”

De Clercy is from Saskatchewan and was surprised to find that Ontario towns were often manufacturing centres when she moved here 10 years ago.

“It’s not yet on the political radar that de-industrialization is a problem. It’s going to affect thousands and thousands of people across Ontario, and it’s going to affect the political calculus.”

“A lot of people in urban centres think that it doesn’t really matter if we empty out small towns,” says Allan Thompson, the Carleton professor from Bruce County.

He now runs a task force called Project Rural, set up by the federal Liberal Party to examine what Ontario’s rural ridings need.

This country needs a diverse economy that stretches beyond major cities, Thompson says, rather than a few areas of strength with gaps in between.

“People don’t always appreciate that rural Canada is part of the fabric of the country. People who live in rural communities deserve economic development and career opportunities and things for young people to do” as much as city dwellers.

Despite the frustrations and the perceived slights, rural residents who spoke to the Citizen aren’t pessimistic about the future. There’s a tenacity and a dedication to a way of life they believe has value.

“I think the future is promising,” says Ashley Rankie. She said she’d like better access to the Internet and affordable electricity but adds that “people who live in the country tend to appreciate what they have.

“I think we are always going to need the country life, or the farm life, and I think it’s just going to grow.”

tspears@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/Tomspears1