Still Standing

In the 50s, 60s and 70s, Nipigon was a boom town. The paper mill in the neighbouring town of Red Rock and Nipigon's own plywood mill kept the local economy humming. Four hotels, a number of bars and even a movie theatre dotted Nipigon's main street. But the lumber industry slowly ebbed away and by the mid 2000s the paper mill had closed then Nipigon's plywood mill burned to the ground. The town had to reimagine a future for itself. Two years ago, Nipigon suddenly made international news when the new $106 million dollar Nipigon Bridge, a crucial link on the Trans Canada Highway, buckled and stopped traffic for 18 hours. It was an unfortunate way to put Nipigon back on the map but the town hopes to capitalize on the attention. They've had a tough run but Nipigon is focused on investing in the future, whether it's in its youth or by enticing visitors' with the one thing it's always had in it's backyard: the great outdoors.

To see the ongoing legacy of Schreiber's Italian heritage you have only to read the signs in front of the town's remaining businesses: Figliomeni Ford, Spadoni Home Furniture, Filane's Dollar N' More, Speziale Pro Hardware, Costa Foodateria, Valentino Trucking, Cebrario's Hardware, etc. Schreiber has responded to its post-industrial troubles by relying on the strength of its large families to keep the community alive while holding on the faint hope of a rebound for the heavy industries that once employed so many residents.

Churchill is famous around the world for its polar bears, and now equally infamous for becoming a fly-in community overnight. Last May, the town lost its only land connection to the south, the Hudson Bay Railway, after severe flooding washed out the tracks. For Churchill, the train is a lifeline bringing locals south for affordable goods and tourists north for bucket-list adventures. Still, rather than pay for expensive repairs, the American railway owner simply pulled the train for good. Food and gas prices soared while the summer tourist season was decimated. Nine months earlier, Churchill's deep-sea port shut down putting nearly 10% of the community out of work. It's been a perfect storm of bad news but Churchillians continue to meet the challenges head-on with Northern grit and unprecedented community support.

Just 15 kilometres east of Dartmouth lies a little known founding Nova Scotia community. East Preston, one of Canada's oldest indigenous black communities was settled as part of greater Preston Townships in 1782 by Black Loyalists who'd fought for Britain in the American Revolution. This historic community has faced near constant pressure from its suburban neighbours to have boundaries shifted and renamed, quite literally threatening to wipe East Preston off the map. But there's been a shift in East Preston that began in the 60's and it is quickly picking up steam. A focus on education, community support, empowerment of both young and old and a celebration of their successes is securing East Preston's place for now and the future.

The island community of Campobello is a two minute car ride from Lubec, Maine and NOT accessible by car from NB. The picturesque, 39.6- square-kilometre island wrestles with an uncertain future because of a dwindling population, a sanctioned fishery, and no commercial development. Then there's the fact that the island lacks main amenities such as a bank, hospital and gas station, requiring locals to travel through the US in order to access them (mainland Canada is a 80km drive through Lubec, Maine to St. Stephens, NB.) Nonetheless, islanders are proud of their unique and beautiful island and those that choose to live there do so despite its many inherent inconveniences and challenges.

Nowhere else in the world can you board a ferry in Newfoundland and arrive ninety minutes later in France! And Tourists come to Fortune every year to do just that. This year the French government commissioned 2 new ferries that, for the first time, can run all year and also carry cars and trucks. If Fortune can upgrade their wharf to accommodate 'roll-on, roll-off, traffic, the possibilities for increased year- round business between Fortune and St Pierre are endless. And more business means more opportunity for this down and out NL town.

Harbour Grace has been the homeport of pirates, the launch pad of Amelia Earhart and one of the most prosperous towns in NL (2nd only to St John's). But now , after a string of bad luck is a shadow of its former self. The town is now littered with impressive, yet crumbling monuments, testament to its past greatness. Restoring and repurposing its precious landmarks for both tourism and industry are formidable and expensive challenges but Harbour Grace is doing what they can with its past in hopes of creating a new and vibrant economy for its future.

June 19, 2013 delivered a devastating blow to the Siksika Nation. In the span of a day, 1/3 of the community lost their homes, roads and both bridges were washed out, stranding a whole section of the reserve. The outpouring of support from neighbouring communities was immediate and abundant. It's going on 5 years now and many families are still feeling the effects of the disaster. Despite their struggles, Siksikaquans are using creativity, guidance from their knowledge keepers and plain old guts to build a future of good news they can celebrate.

Gravelbourg markets itself as "Touch of Europe on the Prairies." Today, you'll seehallmarks of this farming town's former prominence, including a renaissance-style cathedral, with an interior that is adorned with a spectacular array of religious paintings. Gravelbourg is facing an uphill economic battle that has led to outmigration, and along with it a significant decline in its French (Fransaskois culture.) But it's not all bad news for Gravelbourg. More than 16 different nationalities have settled in the town including German, Korean, African, Lao, and Spanish people. It's this growing international population in Gravelbourg that is complimenting the traditional French community, helping maintain the local economy and the town's unique cultural identity.

Harrison Hot Springs is a seasonal village in BC village trying to make it year round. In the summer tourists flock to this scenic town, however, come winter, it's a ghost town with 1/2 of the restaurants and businesses shuttering for the season. Harrison Hot Springs isn't only famous for its healing waters; it's also famous for its history of Sasquatch sightings. In fact, the Name Sasquatch comes from a mispronunciation of the word the St'Ailes (pronounced Sha-halis) that the First Nation people (whose territory surrounds the town) use to describe the legendary beast. The Sasquatch lore in this town has been studied by renowned crypto-zoologists and is significant across North America. This spring, the town opened the Sasquatch Museum and local residents are hoping it will help draw people to town year round but it remains a hard fought battle.

The closure of Lumby's three main lumber mills in the late 90s and early 00's, effectively brought an end to the high paying, hard charging days of Lumby's youth and the end to the long held belief that lumber alone would support Lumby forever. While the town might not have the economic power and overall "mojo" it once had, the people of the town are nowhere near giving up the fight for their community. Lumby is a town rich in strong opinions and entrepreneurial thinkers. The sheer number of small businesses in Lumby is staggering (the business directory is 42-pages long) and the support for these businesses by the community is intense. Lumby is a town populated by free-thinkers determined to create a new economy that is more diversified, sustainable, and inclusive than the Lumby of yesterday.

Calabogie was born of the insatiable hunger for natural resources in the turn of the 20th Century. Whether it was logging, mining or dam-building, there was always hard work and lots of it. That came to a halt in the late 1960's. By 1970, both sawmills were closed and mining was gone for good. The Calabogie Peaks Ski Resort opened in the 1970-71 season, launching a new chapter for community, as a beacon for recreation and tourism. The opening of the ski hill was able to provide just enough work when it was badly needed but the work is only seasonal. Residents do what they have to do to stay in town, they commute for full-time work, they take multiple seasonal jobs or create new businesses. It's this former resources town's new normal but for Calbogians, it's worth it.

It was resource industries like forestry and mining that helped build Bristol, Quebec. Its proximity to the Ottawa river made it a natural logging town starting in the 1800s, and an iron ore mine opened later in the 50s which kept over 300 locals employed for decades. But Bristol really made its name as a summer vacation spot for nearby city dwellers from Ottawa and beyond. The popularity of local dancehalls in the area added to the excitement for tourists and locals alike. By the 1960s, dancehalls fell out of fashion as revellers began looking for their entertainment in the cities. The mine closed in 1976, while the last pulp mill just outside of town hung on until in 2009. Out-population led to local businesses drying up. Now, a new breed of entrepreneurs are reimagining how Bristol's unique landscape can be used to entice people back. Whether it's farmers reinventing their land, a dance hall converted to a cidery or old growth logs at the bottom of the river being reclaimed and repurposed, Bristolites are working together to bring people back to town.