This past evening, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau won a decisive electoral victory in an election with the highest voter turnout in two decades. He will take a solid majority with him to the House of Commons. His most significant early challenge will be achieving progress on a number of troubling issues to help make Canada’s economy stronger than ever.

At the Calgary Chamber, we remain undeterred in our mission to tirelessly support the interests of the business community, and look forward to working with the new government to address on a number of issues that are critical to our national economy.

As we look toward transition, here are 5 key issues from the Calgary business community the new Prime Minister and his colleagues can’t afford to ignore.

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Alberta has established a reputation the world over for finding new and innovative ways to make the most of its natural resources. However, for decades these research and development efforts have been concentrated in the energy industry.

With unprecedented uncertainty in the provincial economy, transformational technologies, and changing global trade dynamics, it is now the time to bring this same pioneering spirit to another industry, one as synonymous with Alberta as oil and gas — agribusiness.

Read our latest report on the policy shifts we need to take our agri-business industry to the next level on the global stage. 

This summer, the Calgary Chamber teamed up with the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) to better understand how local businesses are prepared for emergencies and disasters.

To do this, CEMA sent summer students to visit over 300 businesses in 6 of Calgary's major business zones to learn about their disaster preparedness and distribute information on how they could create disaster resiliency plan. While most businesses felt confident they'd be able to handle a future emergency, the visits revealed that 49% didn't have an official disaster resiliency plan in place.

Check out the findings from the summer of business continuity planning, and learn how you can prepare your business for the worst.

• Your complete guide to the day after the federal election
• The shape of the house: An interactive exploration of the 42nd Parliament
• The ripple effect on kids when parents don't use their vacation time
• Video: Imaginea Energy's letter to Premier Notley
• The right way to praise your team's accomplishments 

On October 14, LinkedIn rolled out an update that not only revamped the Groups experience to make it more engaging and increase the quality of content shared, it also made all Groups private.

This means that any member looking to join a Group needs to be vouched for in order to gain admission and post. At the same time, the company also released a standalone iOS app to heighten the Groups experience on mobile. 

Read more about all the new features in the revitalized LinkedIn Groups.

As a non-partisan organization, the Calgary Chamber is dedicated to helping our members grow and succeed by helping to solve the problems that keep them up at night.

To do this, we advocate on behalf of the business community to shape policy at all levels of government to make Calgary a great city to do business in.

To stay informed on our latest policy work and projects, sign up for our Influence newsletter.

Whether financial pressure, pressure on human resources, difficulty in overcoming fierce competition, or a lack of familiarity with new technology, market trends and competitors, there is no shortage of challenges when it comes to growing a small business. 

In a special Small Business Week guest blog, BDC's Chief Economist Pierre Cléroux, discusses the company's latest research on the challenges facing Canadian entrepreneurs and the best strategies to overcome them. 

Read Pierre Cléroux's guest blog on the strategies for growing a small to medium-sized business. 

November 23 – 24, 2015
Hyatt Regency
700 Centre Street SE

The 6th annual Calgary Women in Leadership and Business Conference is a national, 2-day interactive learning and professional development event for leaders and entrepreneurs. The event is designed to engage delegates with speakers and peers during 12 workshops, keynotes, panel and discussion groups and networking breaks. Topics focus on current leadership and business issues, needs and priorities that are targeting to grow your business and advance your career.

Use promo code CCOCVIP until October 29, 2015 to get a full conference ticket for $1195.

Register today!

For not-for-profit and micro-business rates, please contact Ildi Arlette at ildi@resultscontinuum.com or call 403 234 7004.

Thursday, October 22, 2015
2:00 pm – 9:00 pm
TELUS Spark
220 St. George's Drive NE

The capstone event of Small Business Week Calgary is the Expo and Awards. Your ticket gets you access to:

• Expert-led breakout sessions to help take your business to the next level
• A business expo of 70 exhibitors and 800 professionals to network with
• A spectacular keynote address from local entrepreneurial success story Brad Zumwalt
• The city's largest celebration of small business

Plan your day in advance and don't miss a second of the action!

Small Business Week in Canada was founded by our official partner BDC, and is powered locally by ATB Business.

O.C. Tanner, #40 on the 2015 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list, helps organizations create great work environments by inspiring and appreciating great work.

Using cloud-based technology, tools, awards, and education services, the company helps clients throughout the world to engage talent, increase performance, drive goals, and create experiences that fuel the human spirit.

Learn more at OCTanner.com

As a Calgary Chamber member, you are eligible for exclusive savings on credit card processing rates with ATB Financial.

Take advantage of preferred electronic merchant MasterCard and VISA discount rates of 1.64% and 1.59% respectively, regardless of ticket size, as well as Interac processing fees of 6 cents per debit transaction.

Learn more about how an ATB Business expert can help you save on electronic merchant services.

These Prestige members have shown a substantial and unwavering commitment to supporting the work of the Calgary Chamber. We thank our Prestige members: Suncor, TELUS and Nexen for helping to make Calgary a better place to live and work for all.