Taking Stock: North Coast Business Scene April 2017

Since we were away for a portion of the month of April, our notes on the local commercial scene are slightly less than previous months.

What we did take note of through the month though offered up a cross section of some of the items that caught the attention of the community.

Among some of the themes that developed through April was the changing of the guard at the Chamber of commerce with a new board installed, the introduction of a new air connection between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan, a few items of note from the city owned communication company CityWest and the introduction of a new program designed to help Northwest BC get its goods to export markets.

Some of our observations on the Commercial and economic scene in the region for April can be found below:

April

Those looking for spots at the upcoming Salmon Festival were reserving their spots for the June 9th event, as Salmon Festival Committee organizers began accepting applications for those looking to set up a table at Civic Centre for the popular event.

The Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce introduced its new executive in April, as Michelle Bryant-Gravelle took over the duties of President, delivering her initial address to the membership as part of the Chamber celebrations.

The Chamber also took the lead during the British Columbia election period on the North Coast, scheduling a local candidates form in Prince Rupert for April 24th.

A new air link between Prince Rupert and Ketchikan was introduced, as Misty Fjord Air, a Ketchikan based air service outlined its plans to offer service three times a week from May until the end of September. The new connection between North and South will depart from Prince Rupert's Seal Cove Airbase on the city's east side.

Prince Rupert based CityWest continued to expand on its communications options for the community, introducing its new Q125 internet service in April.

The communication company also outlined more of its ambitious expansion plans for Terrace, highlighting their planned investment of over 1 million dollars in that community.

One of the hidden gems of the tourism sector in the region is getting a bit more attention through a video that has been circulating on YouTube of late, with the Cassiar Cannery getting some buzz through the Destination BC twitter feed to showcase the getaway options that they have to offer.

Three members of the Prince Rupert Realty industry were honoured in April as Jeff Clarke, Mike Morse and Thai Pham were all noted for their success following a March celebration of the BC Northern Real Estate Board.

One of the regions signature tourist attractions received some good news in April, as the North Pacific Cannery Historical Site was awarded a 75,000 dollar grant towards renovation of the Working Dock at the Port Edward site.

The Province of British Columbia selected Prince Rupert as the base for a program designed to help business gain access to export markets, with the Export Navigator program announced through the offices of Community Futures.

And the month of April was also a period where planning for the upcoming Cruise season, as those organizing the city's Cruise Ambassador program began to prepare for the first ships of May.

You can keep up to date on the ebb and flow of the Prince Rupert commercial scene through 2017 from our Taking Stock tracker archive which can be reviewed here.

A full review of the the trends and developments in business for 2017 can be found on our Commercial Sector archive page here.

 We imagine we probably have missed a few here or there, so if you know of a business having opened, or seen the Going out of business sign appear somewhere in the area, drop us a line at our email account of northcoastreviewpr@yahoo.ca

Or send us a short message through our twitter feed of @CharlesHays