The national unemployment rate for Canada in August was 7.3%. Though it’s lower than the whopping 9.1% south of the border, it is still cause for concern, because the jobless rates vary widely between provinces within Canada. The highest rate of unemployment is in Newfoundland and Labrador, at 13.7%; the lowest, in Saskatchewan, is at 4.5% (with the rest of the provinces falling somewhere in between). That’s a difference of 9.2%, and people have been paying attention to it.

According to the data, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba are the places to be if you want a good chance of finding a job. These three Prairie Provinces are seeing greater immigration specifically for this reason. As their respective economies are booming and expected to grow at an even faster rate in the future, the provinces are quickly becoming home to Canadians from out of the province.

Not only that, but the provinces are also boasting stable housing prices and higher wages than anywhere else in Canada. What’s not to like? As countless Canadians have found, opportunities and benefits abound in these provinces, which is strong enough reason to migrate there. In fact, the main source of migrating job seekers turns out to be Ontario, and this makes sense. As a greater proportion of Canada’s population is in Toronto (a population that is highly educated and a city that has fierce competition for jobs), one can imagine that the city’s unemployed would be the first to strike out and move to a different province and a different city. This is not, of course, discounting the inhabitants of other Ontario cities, who certainly contribute to the Great Brain Train, as well.

And while it’s all well and good that the job opportunities are there for the taking, the provinces may not have the infrastructure necessary to handle a swell in their respective populations. Alberta, for instance, is on its way to beating a record last set in 2006 for the highest annual pace for net interprovincial migration. With larger (and growing) influxes of workers, however, must come a shift in the direction of institutional growth. The provinces will have to build new hospitals, schools, houses, and other such resources. They will also experience social pressures in addition to the institutional ones. The Prairies will just have to step up to the challenge; their economic future depends on it, as does the future of their denizens.

The economy has seen better times, and the falling stock prices has left many investors worried about their financial stake in the stock market and wondering the secrets of finding the top stocks to buy. While there are signs of the market recovering, there are still a number of areas still suffering. Interest rates are rising, and the housing market is still having a hard-time fully recovering.

Investors are now asking themselves what type of investments are more likely to be recession proof? They are no longer able to choose riskier investments and are choosing the more stable, predictable investments with potentially less return.

How to Choose the Best Stocks

- Think longterm – You never know how long you will be with one particular company, and it’s always good to plan for the longterm. As stock investors, were looking for sustainable investments that have proven to be relatively stable over an extended period of time. Look for fluctuations, any red flags that warn you about your impending investment.

- Be Objective – Don’t let your emotions get in the way of your investments. We often feel compelled to act based on how we feel, as opposed to what our mind and intuition are telling us.

- Invest Wisely In rough economic times like these, be frugal about your investments.

Here Are Some Of The Best Stocks To Buy In 2011 and Beyond

1. Bank Of America Corp- Last year for Bank of America wasn’t at its best, however, stock market experts are gambling on it being a much better year for this company.

2. Evercore Partners Inc – Stock experts are predicting a big year for the Evercore Partners, and are expecting to see big commissions. This company made it on to the “Game Changer Stocks” newsletter by Hilary Kramer.

3. Mindspeed Technologies Inc Nancy Zimble believes that technology stocks will be an excellent buy for the year 2011. Mindspeed Technologies is one such company, and has been selling semiconductors. Unbelievably, semiconductor sales have been up almost 150 percent in North America.

4. Mosaic – Mosaic has had 89 percent correlation with corn growth, and had a 2009 revenue of 10 billion dollars and dividend yield of.3 percent. In beginning 2011 it was up by 11 percent and is showing signs of stable growth.

Some Final Stock Market Tips

Vanadium is represented on the periodic table by the V symbol and it has an atomic number of 23. This element is silvery-gray, soft and ductile. How much do you know about vanadium? Well, we’re about to find out. Below, you’ll find 10 interesting facts about this element that you probably do not yet know.

We’re not keeping track, but you are more than welcome to do so yourself.

1. Andres Manuel del Rio is credited with the discovery of vanadium in 1801. A mineralogist of Spanish descent living in Mexico, Del Rio was able to extract this element from vanadinite. However, his discovery was challenged in 1805 by Hippolyte Victor Collet-Descotils who was backed by Alexander von Humboldt. Both declared, albeit incorrectly, that the element Del Rio found was simply impure chromium. Del Rio made the decision to accept this and his claim was retracted.

2. Nils Gabriel Sefstrom, a Swedish chemist, rediscovered vanadium in 1831 when he was working on iron ores. Friedrich Wohler ended up confirming Del Rio’s work later that year; however, it was Sefstrom’s name for the element that stuck.

3. Vanadium comes from Vanadis, which is one of many names of Norse Vanr goddess Feyja. The goddess was believed to bring fertility and beauty. The name was chosen by Sefstrom due to the wide variety of colorful chemical compounds produced by it.

4. Vanadium metal wasn’t isolated until 1867 by Henry Enfield Roscoe.

5. Vanadium is not only soft and ductile, but it also has good corrosion resistance, remaining stable against hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, as well as alkalis. It oxidizes at 660 degrees Celsius, but at regular room temperature it will form an oxide layer.

6. Vanadium does not occur freely in nature; however, it does exist in more than 60 minerals. The most significant examples are vanadinite, carnotite and patronite. The majority of vanadium comes from magnetite.

7. China, Russia and South Africa are the leading producers of vanadium. Combined, these countries produced over 98% of the world’s vanadium.

8. The majority of the vanadium that is produced, a whopping 85%, is used for steel additives. This strengthens steel considerably and makes steel great for axles, crankshafts, bike frames, gears and a variety of other components. However, vanadium is also used in cladding, as a catalyst, an oxidizer, for color induction, and to prevent corrosion.