The Canora Economic Development Commission (CEDC) held a meeting at the Town of Canora office on January 23.
Ben Sipple, community development officer and CEDC member, led the meeting. Other CEDC members present at the meeting were: Al Babb, Russell Bartko, Jeff Bisschop, Councillor Sheldon Derkatch and Sylvia Sanderson.
Sipple said the main purpose of the meeting was to “get to know our local businesses and our community better and find out how we can help.”
He mentioned that, with a master’s degree in public policy, he loves working with numbers. Sipple said he was very impressed to learn that Canora, with a population of about 2,200, has a total of 147 business. He said he knows of cities of over 70,000 people which don’t have that many businesses.
A total of 26 individuals, representing 21 different local businesses, attended the meeting.
“The attendance was noticeably higher than I expected, which is a wonderful result,” said Sipple.
“And, it lets the CEDC know that the community of Canora has an appetite for further business development and economic progress.”
One of his goals was to find out what challenges are facing Canora businesses. Several indicated that, while there are many vehicles travelling on the highways in the Canora area, very few of them stop in Canora, but rather most are on their way to Yorkton to do the majority of their shopping at large retailers.
The thought was expressed that, since Canora business, for the most part, can’t compete with larger operations when it comes to low prices, there might be opportunities to gain customers by emphasizing quality and customer service.
It was agreed that one of the biggest challenges is to attract people to Canora, and the questions was raised, would it be possible for local businesses to work together to do so?
Sipple asked those in attendance to name some of the assets Canora has to offer which might draw to potential customers and even new residents.
It was mentioned that Canora is known for being a family-friendly community, and that usually children can safely walk to school without their parents.
The Canora Golf and Country Club is quite popular, and could be helpful in drawing more out-of-town traffic to Canora.
The Canora Arts Council regularly brings in talented acts, and more effective advertising might attract more visitors.
It was agreed that more effective advertising and promotion in general could emphasize what Canora has to offer to increase local traffic.
Ideas mentioned at the meeting included: creating an improved community event calendar to attract more people, creating a package deal including dinner and a concert, increase the number of services available so visitors can get more of their needs met while in Canora, and increase the number of incentives available to attract new businesses.
Another possibility mentioned was to create a new community slogan which promotes Canora as a business community.
Challenges which are facing Canora business were discussed during the meeting.
There are a number of empty buildings within the community. It was hoped that the Downtown Revitalization Program would lead to new businesses occupying some of these buildings but so far that hasn’t been the case.
A local service station owner indicated that courier service from Yorkton needs to be improved so that customers aren’t waiting so long to get parts for their vehicles or equipment.
Canora Business Profile forms were distributed during the meeting, and those in attendance were encouraged to fill them out and return them to Sipple.
“As businesses complete their profiles, the CEDC will collect and compile the information in order to identify common areas that are impacting multiple businesses,” he said.
“Once common areas are identified; we can work towards solutions or alternatives to the identified concerns. Through these steps, the CEDC will be able to act with a clear focus and plan to effectively build up our community and local businesses.”
Sipple said the Business Profile accomplishes 3 goals:
- General Information - collects up-to- date contact information, and other basic facts, about a local business to ensure that the correct information is displayed and communicated by the town.
- Specific Information – allows business owners to reflect on the identity and purpose of their business through exploring mission statements, vision, values and goals in order to choose a clear orientation and long term strategy.
- Self Evaluation – provide local businesses with an opportunity to review and identify their own areas of strength and improvements as well as community wide themes, opportunities and challenges.
Anyone who would like a copy of the Business Profile, is encouraged to contact the Community Development Office for the Town of Canora, Ben Sipple, at (306) 563 – 5574 or at cdo.canora@sasktel.net.
In closing, Sipple asked members of the Canora business community to keep in regular contact with the CEDC to share any questions and concerns.
“Each and every business in town adds value to Canora and we want to act in mutually beneficial partnerships to build up and support our business community,” he concluded.
