This article is a synthesis of a vast survey conducted in 2006-2007 on migrant and non-migrant young people in the Acadian peninsula of New Brunswick. Given the negative impact of the exodus of young people not only on the region’s economy, but also on its social vitality, regional stakeholders wanted to establish an action plan in order to understand the motivations of young people who leave their region and to identify possible return and retention factors related to employability. This approach first required a better understanding of the out-migration phenomenon and the relationship of young people with their milieu in the Acadian peninsula.