Business, trade and Arctic sovereignty headline Kivalliq Trade Show
Delegates from business and government expected to land in Rankin Inlet next week for annual event
Robert Connelly, president of the Kivalliq Trade Show Society, says this year’s trade show starting Monday will be about Arctic sovereignty and the changing world. Connelly is seen here speaking at last year’s trade show gala. (Photo courtesy of the Kivalliq Trade Show Society)
Arctic sovereignty and the changing economic and political landscape will be major topics at the 16th annual Kivalliq Trade Show next week in Rankin Inlet.
This year’s theme is Kivalliq in a changing North, said Robert Connelly, president of the Kivalliq Trade Show Society, in an interview.
“The purpose and intent of the Kivalliq Trade Show is to be that forum, that mechanism for people to have discussions, debate and to advance initiatives that will help the North continue to not only adapt but thrive in Canada’s economy.
“It is along the lines of what’s happening economically from a trade perspective and the general political climate around the world.”
This year’s trade show opens Monday and runs until Wednesday, with 250 to 300 delegates expected to attend.
Three discussion panel discussions are scheduled — The Changing Northern Economy; Changing How We Do Business in Northern Communities; and The Changing Landscape of Northern Security and Sovereignty — with multiple presenters for each panel.
Topics will range from devolution in Nunavut to small business perspectives on changes that are happening in the territory and around Canada.
Speakers are scheduled to include representatives from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, and the Royal Canadian Navy in addition to leaders from business, community organizations and different levels of government.
Of particular interest, Connelly said, will be the Royal Canadian Navy patrol vessel HMCS William Hall, which is scheduled to dock in the harbour next week. The ship is commissioned to patrol Hudson Bay in the future.
“The ship is making its first visit to the region next week. So not only are people going to hear about Arctic security and sovereignty, they are going to see it with the ship physically anchored just offshore,” Connelly said.
The HMCS William Hall was commissioned by the navy on May 16, 2024, as an Arctic offshore patrol ship primarily tasked with patrolling Canadian Arctic waters. Most recently, it participated in Operation CARIBBE, a “U.S.-led enhanced counter-narcotics operation” in the Caribbean Sea, according to Canada’s Department of National Defence website.
Connelly said there likely will be tours of the vessel, but he’s not sure if they will be open to the public.
The trade show’s keynote speaker will be Sen. Nancy Karetak-Lindell, appointed to the Senate this year to represent Nunavut. There will be opening remarks by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Jeremy Tunraluk and a welcome message via video from Nunavut MP Lori Idlout.
Agnico Eagle Arena will be the main venue for exhibitors and panel discussions while the Rankin Inlet community hall will be used for musical performances, a meet-and-greet and a fashion show featuring the work of Kivalliq designers.
The Kivalliq Trade Show follows on the heels of the Nunavut Trade Show and Conference in Iqaluit, which wrapped up Thursday.
Connelly said he’s pleased with the expected turnout and that the event continues to grow.
“It’s extremely well attended,” he said.
How to make a thing, more of a thing, making a thing we pay attention to, when it was really never a thing, how to create an environment in which we can fund this thing, which was never really a thing, and how can a bunch of people that have nothing to do with this thing that we’ve created, or that are are affected by this thing, get rich?
Napoleon would not have waited around for your permission to point a cannon at you