COCHRANE— Showcasing the vibrant Cochrane economy, Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie, Alberta Minister of Labour and Immigration Jason Copping and MLA Muhammad Yaseen toured successful business with one uniting feature— They have all been launched by newcomers to Cochrane.
It was great taking a tour of the town, Guthrie said, adding “everybody likes Cochrane. It’s got a good buzz about it.”
The tour around town served as a way to highlight the newcomers in the community who are coming to Alberta to invest their time and life savings to help the province thrive.
“They are the job creators,” Guthrie said. “We want to make sure that, that gets highlighted.”
Guthrie said he enjoyed the tour because it offered him a chance to connect with business owners in the community be it someone he met for the first time, or Cochranites he has known for years.
During the tour on Friday (Oct. 2) Guthrie, Yaseen and Copping visited Mary Brown’s Chicken & Taters, Cuore di Mamma, The Cave Day Sauna and Spa, Thanh Thy, Blend, Mehtab East Indian Cuisine and the Fireside Shell Gas station.
It was interesting touring the different shops he added because they span the gambit of established Cochrane businesses to new businesses that have yet to open.
Guthrie highlighted Blend as an example. The shop has yet to open its doors, he said, but is helping to build confidence in the economy because people are seeing a new business giving them faith in Cochrane's financial state.
“They are about to open a business here in the next few weeks. They’re stepping forward during COVID, which was a difficult time for many, and yet they have a lot of optimism,” Guthrie said. “There’s a lot of interest in Cochrane— It’s exciting.”
A consistent theme Guthrie heard during the visit was business owners praising the strong community ties in town that create a spirit of unity.
“It rang through with each one of the owners— How much they like and enjoy living in Cochrane and we feel the same,” Guthrie said.
He added he learned several inspiring stories during the day— Many sharing the common theme of overcoming adversity to arrive in Canada.
“There’s some pretty amazing stories that are out there— They came with very little in their pockets but having a dream to be able to open their own business and being able to provide for their families,” Guthrie said. “There’s a lot of hurdles with all of them that were placed in the way, and each one of them managed to get over them and come here and invest."
He added, businesses have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with many experiencing a decline in business.
Guthrie said these stories from Cochrane shop owners and other businesses across the province are pushing the provincial government to do what it can to keep the economy open safely.
It was inspiring to see the resilient and thoughtful spirit guiding business in Cochrane, he said, adding he appreciated how businesses have managed to pivot the delivery of their products while expanding their services in new and unique ways.
Guthrie is a former small business owner and said he appreciates the difficult year businesses have faced during COVID-19.
He was impressed with the out-of-the-box thinking local shops are embracing as a way to create innovative ways to survive and operate during the storm.
“There’s a lot of businesses going forward who may have some opportunities with this,” Guthrie said. “As people start to get back to the new normal life some of these businesses are going to come away being stronger than they were.”
