The year is well on its way, and it is an exciting time to be in Halifax! As the Chair of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, I first want to say thank you. Thank you to our board for supporting me in my new role, for their willingness to champion the cause of the Chamber, thank you to our employees, and for affirming our efforts to promote our members and to advocate for them at all levels of government.
Our role is one of governance and managing our fiduciary responsibilities, but what is important are our members, who are the heart of the Chamber. So, thank you as well to our Halifax Chamber members—both new and long-standing—for being a part of our growing community.
Our members represent nearly 2,000 local businesses and 90,000 employees—almost a fifth of the city’s population! Your diverse perspectives, innovation, and impact bring national (even global) attention to our beautiful region.
Our members are part of a significant history. Established in 1750, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce is the oldest chamber of commerce in North America. The business leaders who founded the Chamber shared a vision of prosperity for the city, but they also shared a vision of social progress. They recognized that their vision of building a strong business community also meant building a strong social community and addressing the social challenges that people faced here.
Little did they know, their vision included me. At the time, women—and certainly people of colour—held little to no standing in the business community. Yet centuries down the line, here I am.
There were times when the Halifax Chamber had challenges in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In response, the Chamber listened to the concerns of our members and commissioned the Amplifying Voices report in 2021-2022. Since then, the Chamber has worked tremendously hard to follow through on all of the recommendations in the report.
That work brought about the SURGE Conference and subsequent workshops. It also brought over 800 attendees to the Wonder Women Conference this year. These successes are a credit to our staff and their commitment to the work of the Chamber. Their personal values are clearly aligned with the Chamber’s values, and that is what makes the organization a success.
I am a woman of African descent, but I was not the first woman of African descent to lead the Chamber—that was Cynthia Dorrington in 2018. Neither am I the first woman immigrant—that was Faten Alshazly in 2022. And prior to that, the first woman to be Chair of the Halifax Chamber Board of Directors was Kim West, who is now the owner of Royer Thompson.
All of us—our previous Chairs, our board, our members, and our staff—represent the Chamber’s core values of social progress and inclusion. This is another historic year for our board. There are 23 people serving on the board, representing diverse businesses and communities.
In 2013, the Hon. Joanne Bernard was the first openly 2SLGBTQI+ person elected to the provincial legislature in Nova Scotia, and she is now the first openly 2SLGBTQI+ Vice Chair of our Board. Alongside Joanne and I, three women—Caroline Wolfe Stewart, Donna Harding, and Kimberly Stephens—lead the board as Officers. There are also three men of Colour, three women of African descent (including myself), and one Indigenous person working alongside each other. We have listened to our members as we strive to bring about prosperity and growth in our city.
It may not look exactly as the founders envisioned back in 1750, but the Chamber’s board has continued to evolve and reflect the needs and diversity of our membership. As our population—and potential—grows, we will also continue to advocate for economic stability, equity, and quality of life in Halifax.
It is my privilege to be a part of meaningful conversations on these topics and serve our community alongside my fellow board members.
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