Hamilton Day set to rally community around local and small businesses

The head of Hamilton’s Chamber of Commerce (COC) says a one-day city event on Saturday is seeking support from shoppers in an effort to aid local and small businesses still experiencing struggles following years of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent spikes in inflation.

COC president Greg Dunnett told Global News that Hamilton Day, whose roots go back almost 90 years, has always been a symbolic mechanism rallying residents to shop locally with micro, small and medium businesses to bolster the local economy.

“It’s just celebrating our city and all the great impacts that those small businesses have on our community,” Dunnett said.

“Really, it’s just a chance to enjoy the vibrancy of our neighbourhoods, and get to enjoy the walkability of the neighbourhood.”

Katie Stiel, project manager for Hamilton Day, told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton that over 500 businesses are in all areas of the city from Watertown to Stoney Creek to the back of the Mountain.

“We have eight different markets participating and we have 11 BIAs participating,” said Stiel.

The COC’s first Hamilton Day was in 1931, during the Great Depression, and was a one-day symbol of the city’s “rallying spirit” in what was then a time of an economic downturn that carried on for years.

The initiative encouraged Hamiltonians to visit small retail shops, cafes, restaurants, bars and theatres, among others.

“There are so many ways you can contribute, and it’s going to support them. … It’s going to help them have a really good kick-off to the holiday season,” Dunnett said.

In mid-October, chambers from across Canada met in Ottawa for Small Business Week to talk about the pandemic, the looming recession, and how the two will impact businesses going into 2023.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business‘s (CFIB) latest business barometer survey revealed that many businesses are struggling to repay debt accumulated during COVID-19 lockdowns as interest rates climb.

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A third of Canadian small business owners now say borrowing costs are causing difficulties, compared with about a fifth of businesses at the start of the year, the business group said.

“Small businesses are facing a lot of worries right now,” said Simon Gaudreault, chief economist and vice president of research at CFIB, in a statement.

“Many have not yet repaid the debt they accumulated during the pandemic, while also facing another interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada due to the unresolved inflation challenge.”

Among provinces, Ontario saw the lowest short-term outlook and the biggest drop in confidence this month, the CFIB said.

Businesses in the retail sector posted the largest short-term drop in optimism and were the least confident of the sectors polled, despite the holiday shopping season around the corner, according to the CFIB.

Canada is home to about 1.2 million small- and medium-sized enterprises that generate around 54 per cent of the country’s GDP with 98 per cent of those businesses employing fewer than 100 people.

Dunnett said those numbers paint a picture of how “incredibly important” small businesses are not just to a local economy, but nationally.

“That’s why it’s so important for all members of our community to shop locally,” Dunnet said.

“There are many benefits. … It strengthens our local economy, creates new jobs, and ensures our taxes are reinvested in our community.”

Close to one thousand local businesses are expected to take part on Nov. 5.

For more information, visit HamiltonDay.ca.