Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce names new executive director

Tony Rose, a businessman with private- and public-sector experience in Nunavut, is taking on the top job at the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The business organization announced Rose’s appointment Wednesday, the day after the appointment became effective. The chamber pointed to Rose’s “diverse professional experiences” giving him an understanding of Nunavut’s business climate.

“We believe in the chamber’s ability to strengthen the economic and business climate in our region,” chamber president Steve Sullivan wrote in the announcement.

Rose, who has been Nunavut’s acting chief electoral officer, also spent 17 years running Nunageek Solutions Inc., a company that provided management solutions to clients in Nunavut, Sullivan said.

Rose replaces Chris West, who retired this fall after the Nunavut Trade Show, one of the organization’s key events. West will remain with the chamber of commerce to help plan the new Aqsarniit Trade Show and Conference in February 2025.

That trade show, to be held in Ottawa, replaces the Northern Lights trade show, which used to be run jointly by the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Labrador Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier this year, the organizations cancelled that event over a dispute about the participation of the NunatuKavut Community Council, an organization in Labrador whose members claim to be Inuit.

That claim has been rejected by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national organization for Inuit in Canada.

The Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce also paid tribute to events manager Shirely Dagg, its manager of events and member services, who is no longer with the organization, the announcement added.