The evolution of commute work in the resource sectors in Canada and Australia

- Commute/camp work arrangements have replaced residential resource towns as the preferred development option since the 1970s.
- The drivers encouraging the commute/camp option have evolved since 2000 to address labour and housing shortages thus changing the geography of commute operations.
- Commute operations are now found not only in remote areas, but also in “near-town” and “in-town” situations.
- Source communities or employment hubs are also being targeted for labour.
- How these arrangements will continue evolve in the next commodities growth cycle is of concern to resource-based communities and regions.

Commute work in the resource sectors is characterized by rotational schedules, extended workdays and (usually) company-paid transportation and camp accommodations. In both Canada and Australia these work arrangements have become standard practice since the 1980s, replacing the earlier permanent residential resource town approach. Originally designed to address labour supply and permanent settlement problems in remote areas, the commodities boom of the 2000s, combined with limited labour supply and infrastructure availability, particularly housing, has seen the commute model adopted for resource operations near existing towns and even in such towns. The recent downturn in commodity prices suggests that “lean production” will be an important consideration for resource companies into the next growth cycle, further encouraging use of the commute model and placing further pressures on existing communities to accept this approach. Demand for labour will also likely to continue to encourage companies to target specific source communities for workers. The paper summarizes the evolution of the use of the commute model in Canada and Australia and considers how it might continue to evolve in the future.