THUNDER BAY – The Fort William Gardens was filled with nearly 6,000 people Wednesday as the massive two-day Central Canada Resource Expo, or CEN-CAN returned for a fifth year.
Growing larger each year, the tradeshow is a place where “suppliers, distributors (and) manufacturers can meet face to face with the mining industry, the Indigenous community leaders, as well as (the) Northwestern Ontario Community leaders,” said Glenn Dredhart, president of CEN-CAN’s organizer, Canadian Trade-Ex.
“If you want to meet everyone and you don’t want to do it over the course of one year or two years, this is the place to come,” he added.
“If you have a product or you have a service that you have to offer, if you want to meet the right people, they’re all here,” said Dredhart.
Many companies are looking to expand into Northwestern Ontario because of all the activity, said Jamie Taylor, CEO for the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC).
“We’re the hub where everything’s happening, so we want to attract those companies here. We want them to establish, hire people, and then contribute to our economic growth,” she said.
The CEDC was there for day one of CEN-CAN to support businesses and visitors, as they also sponsored the event with $50,000 through the Tourism Development Fund.
“Everyone’s looking for labour, so obviously we’re thinking of that when we look at some of our workforce planning priorities at the CEDC,” Taylor said.
CEN-CAN is not just for businesses, but also for job-seekers in the industry. With more than 300 exhibits at the event, about 80 are accepting resumes.
“Basically, companies that are represented from grassroots exploration companies right up to mill producers and mine owners and operators,” said Dredhart. “We’ve got mining, forestry, exploration, we have engineering, we have energy,”
He also said that registrations were up about 30 per cent from last year’s CEN-CAN.
“A lot of the companies are accepting resumes, so if you are looking for, your first job or your next job, please come down and talk to some of the employees about what the opportunities are,” Taylor added.
On Thursday, the second day of CEN-CAN, a secondary event called Projects in the Pipeline will be held at the Elk’s Lodge.
According to Dredhart, that event will feature companies that have an idea or product to introduce, along with needs and requirements to an audience of suppliers and community members.
Taylor said that the CEDC’s role in Projects in the Pipeline is to ensure those projects are reflective of what’s happening in the area.
“There’s no better time than now for Thunder Bay,” said Dredhart, as so many businesses in Thunder Bay cater to the mining industry.
“The mining industry is in demand, not only of people but of products and services,” he said.
More information and tickets for day two of CEN-CAN can be found on their website.
