Reflecting on a decade: Hamilton Chamber of Commerce President Keanin Loomis

As we close in on a new decade, Global News is reflecting on the last 10 years with some of the Hamilton and area’s most well-known personalities.

Lawyer Keanin Loomis took on the position of president and CEO of Hamilton’s Chamber of Commerce in 2013 coming from McMaster’s Innovation Factory. He’s also served on the Hamilton Economic Summit Advisory Committee and as chair of its Innovation and Technology Committee.

Loomis shares his story in a look back at the last decade.

Global News: What were you doing in 2010?

I had just moved to Hamilton and trying to find a job and an opportunity to contribute. We were living in my inlaws’ basement at the turn of the decade and it was probably the most dejected New Year’s we’ve ever had. However, a couple months into the year, I was given the chance to get Innovation Factory (IF) off the ground at McMaster Innovation Park. I became Employee #1 at IF and we had our grand opening in November of that year. As the stakeholder manager, I began getting involved in the chamber and within three years I was in a position to take this job.

Global News: What is your general assessment of the city’s business health since 2010?

Sometimes I’m frustrated with the pace of change in this city, but at those moments, it’s important to reflect on just how far we’ve come this decade. The very first Supercrawl happened in November 2009, just two months after my wife and I moved to Hamilton with our two little kids and attracted hundreds of people. In 2019, we had almost 250,000 people on James Street North. How far that event has progressed to today is similar (and, in fact, very much a contributor) to the overall progress of Hamilton.

Global News: What were the success stories you think the city has had in terms of business in the last decade?

There have been a lot of business success stories, but, in my opinion, none greater than the transformation of our downtown. When you consider that there hadn’t been a new building built in the downtown since the 80s and now you see cranes and new developments all over, and when you stroll up James (North and South) or King William and see the streets bustling with people, you can’t help but be amazed.

Global News: What were the challenges for business in the last 10 years?

The biggest challenge that we experienced this decade was Emperor Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canadian steel. It came out of nowhere, was obviously capricious and took far too long to be resolved. We’re still suffering the hangover of that act, but the day the tariffs were lifted was a day on which a huge cloud hanging over the city was also swept away.

Global News: What improvements are you hoping to see in the next decade? What does the city need to make a priority?

It’s predictable of me to say, but investing in our transit/transportation infrastructure needs to be our first priority. I know that there have been some unexpected developments recently related to the LRT project, but I actually think there’s a way in which this could be the best thing that happened to the project. Even if the project gets axed, however, we’ll have a billion-dollar investment to make in our city. Whatever it is needs to be big, bold and transformational.

Global News: What will be the challenges heading into the next decade?

With the trajectory of this city over the last decade, I’m very optimistic about the next decade for Hamilton as momentum should only increase. We will have challenges in dealing with the impacts of LRT construction and I hope we can somehow find solutions to the housing affordability crisis. However, I think our biggest challenges will emerge from outside of the city. The global economy is expected to slow down, resources are constrained and debts are high, and we are increasingly being impacted by climate change. It’s hard not to be pessimistic about the future, but I also think that people have been saying the same thing for centuries. Though there may be a lot of challenges, that also means there are a lot of opportunities.

Comments, opinions and thoughts of the subject of this interview are their own and do not reflect the opinions or comments of 900chml.com or Global News.

This interview may have been edited for length and clarity.