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IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY - More organizations than ever set their sights on the 10-year-old Kitikmeot Trade Show last week.

While the number of delegates compared to last year shrank to 152 from 200, the number of exhibitors went up from less than 40 in 2008 to 47 this year.

Tony Villebrun, superintendent of the Nunavut Power power plant in Cambridge Bay, shows off a display showing the dangers of downed power lines, at the 10th annual Kitikmeot Trade Show, held in Cambridge Bay last week. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Given the current economic climate and what many expect to be a slow summer for exploration and mine development in Nunavut, the rise in exhibitors is an impressive achievement and a testament to the popularity of the trade show, said master of ceremonies Doug Crossley.

"In an era of apparent economic downturn, we've done very well to draw that many people," he said.

The reduced amount of delegates was due to a common practice among many participants this year: attend the show, but with less people than usual.

Exhibitor Sabina Silver Corporation, which is developing its silver-zinc Hackett River mine 105 km north of Bathurst Inlet, usually brings three people to the show, but this year it only sent one delegate to man the company's booth, said vice president of exploration Harvey Klatt.

"It is a conscious decision, whenever times are tough, to minimize any discretionary spending," said Klatt, between answering questions from students at Kiilinik high school, where the trade show was held.

"But yet, we still have obligations to the communities in the North. We want to maintain our presence. We want to continue to tell people that Sabina still has an ongoing presence in Nunavut and we plan to be here in the future."

The trade show "is a good forum to meet the other people that are doing business in this area," added Klatt. "This is the only venue that I would call part of the Nunavut fabric of society. At our camp, it's a very remote site. We don't see many people come to our camp, and if we're going to work with the people of Nunavut, we have to meet them."

The Diavik Diamond Mine, which had a booth with three people last year, also brought up only one delegate this year, said Glenn Zelinski, senior adviser for community projects.

"Things are tight," said Zelinski. "I think it's more of a business decision that says market conditions are changing. Our organization in particular is preparing to move underground, which is a huge investment... So we need to be able bring costs down to allow us to mine at a profit.

That being said, attending as a delegate has its perks compared to being stuck at a booth, added Zelinski.

"Networking, just (being) able to move around, makes more sense for us," said Zelinski.

While large companies like Diavik, which have had a long presence in the North, could afford to scale down, new companies just starting out took a chance and used their booth at the trade show as an opportunity to get their name out.

That was the case with Qillaq Innovations, a company formed last year by Cambridge Bay husband-and-wife team Carson and Sandi Gillis.

Qillaq distributes collapsible modular buildings, built in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, to the North.

While the company initially set upon targeting the mining industry, early signs of spending decreases among that sector last year prompted the company to switch its focus to selling residential houses, making the Kitikmeot Trade Show an ideal venue for meeting potential customers, said Sandi.

"I'm a long-time resident of Cambridge Bay," said Sandi. "I remember back to the first trade show. I can remember we had these white cardboard things sitting on a table because people didn't know how to display their stuff, especially people in town."

The trade show has certainly come a long way, said Vicki Aitoak, owner of Cambridge Bay tourist shop Arctic Closet. "The actual trade show started out in the (Luke Novoligak) community hall. It only took up half of it," she said. "Now we're using the entire hall to host the festivities on the side. The show has really grown."