Why finding snow removal services in some rural areas of P.E.I. can be tough
During the many heavy snowfalls between January and March 2022, while most Islanders had plows visiting regularly, one man living in rural P.E.I. relied only on a pair of snowshoes, a sled and a shovel.
But this winter, said Stuart Hickox, will be different.
"When I came back here last year … people were like, 'Oh, don't worry, we don't get much snow anymore. You don't need to find someone to clear your driveway,'" said Hickox, who moved back to P.E.I. in 2021 after living away for decades.
Nadine MacLean's husband Jason Lutz clears snow in the yard of their home in Millcove, P.E.I. MacLean started a Facebook group to help Islanders find snow removal services. (Nadine MacLean)
"I have an 800-foot driveway uphill through the trees. That was a mistake," he said.
"I snowshoed in from the road from that first snowstorm on Jan. 6 right until mid-April, dragging all of my supplies uphill on a sleigh, so I don't want to do that again."
Hickox, who lives in a cabin in Hartsville, near the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park, had trouble finding anyone to clear his driveway this year. He eventually managed to hire a plow operator after he posted in a Facebook group called P.E.I. Snow Removal Finder.
'You couldn't charge enough'
It can be a struggle for people in some rural areas of P.E.I. to find snow removal services, said Earl Watts, a farmer and horse trainer in Springvale, along Route 2 west of Milton.
Watts used to do snow clearing in the winter but stopped two years ago due to the increasing costs.
"You couldn't charge enough for the price of fuel and everything," said Watts.
Under all that snow is Stuart Hickox's driveway, where he cleared a path last winter to snowshoe from the road to his house. (Submitted by Stuart Hickox)
Watts said he's been getting a lot of calls this year to clear driveways in his area, and gets the sense there are fewer people offering the service now.
"Not a lot of young people coming behind us … there is a few people, but not too many."
Watts said he used to clear driveways for residential properties as well as some schools.
"But then the insurance for the schools just got so high that I, you know, just didn't make much sense of doing it anymore."
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Lack of small farms
Nadine MacLean has seen the same pattern Watts has — fewer farmers turning their tractors into snowplows in the wintertime.
MacLean's partner, Jason Lutz, runs a snow removal company in the Millcove area, near Tracadie.
There's been an increase in demand for snow removal services over the past few years, said MacLean.
"A lot of people are moving here, buying farm houses but not the actual farm, therefore less tractors and people available to run them to do snow removal," wrote MacLean in an email.
Hickox's plan for this year includes buying a used walk-behind snowblower and hiring his snowplow operator as needed. (Berni Wood)
There are fewer small farms on P.E.I. than there used to be, said MacLean, so farm equipment is also getting bigger as farms grow.
"Their equipment is not suited for residential snow removal," she said. "Doesn't fit in the driveways."
Another reason younger people may not want to start in the industry is the other high costs, said MacLean.
"The cost of a new tractor and parts to repair them — if you can get them at all — has risen exponentially, as well as quality labour," she said.
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MacLean started the Facebook group P.E.I. Snow Removal Finder four years ago.
"We saw a constant need for providers online or in-person and not many people knew where to look," she said.
She says people looking to hire someone new should do their research.
"Find out from neighbours and friends who they have for snow removal," she said.
"Word of mouth, especially on this Island, is one of the best advertising tools out there to secure someone trustworthy.
Stuart Hickox says plow operators have been hard to come by in his rural area too.
"The people who are here have lived here for a long time and either have horses or cattle. So they have their own equipment to do their driveways," he said.
Demographics also play a factor, with some farmers getting older, said Hickox.
Then there's the layout of rural properties.
"There are no subdivisions, there's no density of housing to make it sort of economically feasible for someone to come with the tractor," he said.
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'Just have to get through the next winter'
Despite the fact that Hickox did find someone to clear his lane this winter, he's not hanging up his snowshoes just yet.
Given the length of his driveway, getting it fully cleared after a big storm could cost him $200. So he'll be finding other ways to leave the house.
Hickox plans to buy a used walk-behind snowblower, and rely on a neighbour to blow out the end of his driveway so he can get out with his car.
"That's my patchwork quilt of a solution for this year," he said. "I just have to get through the next winter and hope that we don't get as much snow."
This story, written by Isabelle Gallant, was originally published by CBC News on December 26, 2022.
