Communities of Opportunity: Kenora

Many cottagers and retirees annually flock to Kenora to take advantage of the natural beauty of Lake of the Woods.

Now community leaders want people to consider making the place not just a permanent home, but a place to bring investment dollars too.

“Definitely we need more business and people to come live here,” said Jennifer Findlay, economic development officer with the Lake of the Woods Business Incentive Corp.

Located a two-hour drive east of Winnipeg, the northwestern city of 15,000 becomes a festival town and a vacation spot every summer for thousands of Manitobans.

The collapse of the forestry industry in the early to mid 2000s resulted in a net loss of people and an industrial tax base.

One of the casualties was the former Abitibi Consolidated mill site, which is being repurposed for light manufacturing.

A Manitoba numbered company is spearheading the redevelopment of a package of properties with a concept of light industrial space and subdivisions of affordably-priced homes on the Winnipeg River, something Kenora is sorely lacking.

The city hopped aboard with a Community Improvement Plan for the mill site with a slew of tax incentives for businesses to relocate there.

A modular home builder has set up shop on the 82-acre site, and the city would like to add other value-added manufacturers.

Tourism has historically been a key economic driver.

Local officials have redoubled their efforts by repackaging and coordinating events with attractions. They have cast their marketing net deep into Saskatchewan, Alberta and the U.S.

The city and government funders have invested millions into Kenora's downtown, its waterfront and new tourism infrastructure such as its Discovery Centre, which opened in July.

Based on interviews with tourism operators, Kenora enjoyed its “best summer in five years,” said Findlay. “The consistency of the marketing over the past two years is really paying off.”

Local outfitters have had exceptional luck luring in American tourists from Minneapolis and Chicago to take advantage of an exceptional fishery.

With a vibrant arts and cultural scene, community officials are also studying the possibility of a training and education centre that would double as an arts venue.

www.kenora.ca