The Village of Chase

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Village of Chase

The Village of Chase is hoping to entice immigrants to its business community as its aging population heads to larger cities to shop.

In 2021, the population of the community reached 2,399 residents, a 4.9% jump from 2,286 in 2016, according Statistics Canada census data.

In August 2021, Chase council was given a presentation about a provincial program designed for foreign entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a new business in a smaller community. The program has been ongoing in the town since November 2021.

The Entrepreneur Immigration - Regional Pilot Program officially launched in 2019 and includes Interior cities Clinton, Vernon, Salmon Arm and Penticton.

READ MORE: Vernon looks to immigration to boost economy

In Chase, the town is seeking entrepreneurs who are willing to open dine-in restaurants serving international cuisine, retail stores that sell clothing and shoes, with a focus on children and would also welcome a boutique resort hotel with meeting rooms and some in-house food service, according to the program.

“We’re always looking for ways to enhance our business sector. As part of an economic development program going, we thought this was one way to attract new businesses to Chase,” said Joni Heinrich, chief administrative officer for Chase.

In the last few years, businesses have come and gone, she said.

“Typically what happens is we get seasonal type businesses where they typically do well in the summer but maybe not so well in the winter… and with COVID, we’ve had a bit of a downturn in 2020," Heinrich said.

A few new businesses did start-up in 2021, and a few are still around, she said.

The location of Chase makes it difficult as residents are more likely to shop in Salmon Arm or Kamloops as it’s only a 45-minute drive to either city, Heinrich said.

“A lot of our residents you know, do major shops in the larger communities because it’s easy and quick to get there, so what we’re trying to do with this program is we’re trying to attract some businesses that would be more suited to our demographic,” she said, adding there has been an increasing number of young families but most are an older.

According to Census data, 865 residents are 65 or older in the town.

Since the program’s launch, they’ve had seven inquiries, including a man from Sri Lanka, but no one has taken the next steps to fill out application forms, Heinrich said.

“Council is very keen to have this be successful, so we’re going to go through the year here and see how things go,” she said.

The town has tried a number of local approaches to promote local entrepreneurship but it’s been a challenge with the older demographic, she said.

“We have a solid business core… but we do have a number of empty storefronts in our downtown and we’d really like to see some stuff happening down there,” Heinrich said.

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