The challenges and rewards of running a small business in Antigonish

We sat down with Paul Curry, President of the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce to talk honestly about what it takes to run a small business in Antigonish; the red tape, the razor-thin margins, the trouble finding workers, the fallout from the recent construction traffic that crippled a few Main Street businesses. But it was not a conversation filled with doom and gloom; quite the opposite in fact. Paul came with genuine enthusiasm for this town and what its business community is quietly pulling off. Curry runs the Claymore Inn, a hotel his father operated for 40 years before Paul took over in 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, and the Justamere Café & Bakery, an Antigonish institution popular for breakfast. He’s also the current president of the Antigonish Chamber of Commerce, which gives him a bird’s-eye view of what’s working and what isn’t across the local business landscape.The Immigration Problem Is Real — and It’s Getting WorseThe conversation started where Curry wanted it to start: the broken immigration process for foreign workers. He reached out to the podcast after a previous episode on immigration, wanting to speak from the employer’s side. What he described is a system that is slow, opaque, arbitrary, and increasingly punishing to both workers and the businesses that rely on them.His current example: he’s been trying to hire a chef who is already running a kitchen in Alberta. The candidate scores at the required level in four of the five categories of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot language test — and one point below in reading comprehension. The application is effectively stalled. Meanwhile, Curry has other current employees on temporary permits who have been waiting for movement on their permanent residency applications for so long that it feels, in his words, like they’re simply being slow-played until their permits expire and they’re asked to leave.“The real victims,” he’s clear to point out, “are the people whose lives are on hold.” They’re trying to decide whether to start families, settle down, build a life here, and nobody will give them a straight answer. From the business owner’s side, a lot of the administrative burden falls on employers, who are spending hours on paperwork and thousands of dollars on applications with no guarantee of an outcome and no feedback from the system.This is not, Curry emphasizes, about preferring foreign workers over Canadians. Employers are legally obligated to hire permanent residents and citizens first. The issue is simply that for certain skilled roles like cooks, chefs, and head bakers, local applicants often aren’t there. An LMIA application costs $1,000 and may not succeed. Nobody is doing this because it’s easy or cheap.How The Chamber of Commerce can helpThe Antigonish Chamber of Commerce offers a number of services to local business, including pointing budding business owners in the right direction when it comes time to seek startup advice, and advocating for existing businesses. The construction disruption on Main Street last year was a case study in how the Chamber can help. The Chamber mobilized members to show up at an emergency council meeting and successfully pushed to pause the work through Christmas. It was a tangible, practical example of what the Chamber is actually for: collective advocacy that an individual business owner couldn’t pull off alone.What Antigonish Has Going for ItCurry is not pessimistic about the town as a place to do business; he’s just clear-eyed. He points to a genuine culture of cooperation among local businesses that is unique to this town and that he doesn’t take for granted. Hotels share overflow guests through text groups. Restaurants lend each other ingredients when supply runs short. Nobody wants their neighbours to fail, because a healthy business community serves everyone.He’s also struck by the quality and creativity of what’s being built here. The Curious Cat bookstore, which many assumed couldn’t survive in a small town, is thriving. The Clayfire Cafe, which moved into the former Curious Cat space, is full and buzzing. Lochaber Lake Lodges is doing cool things out in the county. A world-famous chocolate business, a salt company, a seasoning shop on James Street. These are people betting on Antigonish and winning.Anuj noted that over 70% of businesses in Antigonish have women as owners or co-owners, which is remarkable. The Chamber board itself is currently about 80% women, and Curry expects the next president will be too.The Support Ecosystem — and Its GapsFor anyone thinking about starting a business, Curry points to a network of supports that exist but aren’t always easy to find. ACOA, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, funds regional development and can provide grants or low-interest loans for businesses looking to grow or export. CBDC — Community Business Development Corporation — offers small business loans and free training in areas like accounting software, management, and leadership. Nova Scotia Works and NOBL are also in the mix. The Chamber itself functions as a navigator: not the place to start a business, but the place to figure out where to go.The gap, as Curry sees it, is clarity. The ecosystem exists but isn’t visible enough, especially to first-time entrepreneurs. He’d like to see the Chamber play a stronger role in mapping those pathways. He’d also like to see the town and county develop something closer to a strategic vision for its business community; not telling entrepreneurs what to build, but creating conditions and direction. The Coady Institute’s asset-based community development model is one he finds instructive: start with what you have, and build from there.New efforts are emerging too. The Leap Innovation Hub, a peer-to-peer business coaching initiative that includes Curry’s wife Renee, is helping early-stage businesses get off the ground — they’ve worked closely with Elvira’s Table, among others. And IGNITE, out of New Glasgow, provides networking and coaching support across the region.The Bottom LineCurry’s closing message is characteristically direct: entrepreneurship is hard, it matters enormously to this community, and Antigonish needs more of it. If you have an idea, talk to the Chamber, talk to NOBL, talk to Nova Scotia Works. Don’t wait for a perfect moment — there isn’t one. And don’t let the challenges discourage you. The people who bet on this town and pour their passion into it, he says, have a habit of surprising everyone, including themselves.The Chamber has an office at the Antigonish Public Library, with a new executive director starting in the coming months. You can find membership information and more at antigonishchamber.ca.Nova Scotia Works: https://novascotiaworks.ca/nsdc/CBDC-NOBL: https://noblbusinessskills.ca/IGNITE: https://igniteatlantic.com/LEAP: https://www.facebook.com/theleaphub/ACOA: https://www.canada.ca/en/atlantic-canada-opportunities.html Get full access to Let's Talk Antigonish at letstalkantigonish.substack.com/subscribe