SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Opportunities North, the North's annual business conference, included panels on agriculture, the Arctic Inspiration Prize, knowledge partnerships, international trade, aboriginal land claims and the digital divide.

Notably absent however was explicit discussion of the resource sector.

"Mining and mineral-related activities are, and for some time will be, the largest provider of jobs, and the main driver of the territorial economy," said Premier Bob McLeod in his keynote address on Sept. 8.

"We need the benefits from this non-renewable resource production to enable our investment into other sectors of the economy."

Referring to resource development as "foundational," McLeod spoke of the need for the advancement of a "framework of certainty" to lure investment to the North, and the need for economic diversity.

McLeod highlighted the tourism sector, which has evolved into a $146-million industry in the last fiscal year and is projected to increase, McLeod said, by $9 million across the territory annually.

"A picture is emerging of a stronger, broader economy," said McLeod, adding that strategies are in development for the agriculture, fishing and manufacturing sectors.

But that doesn't mean the days of mining and extraction are a thing of the past in the North.

"Premier McLeod didn't talk about diversification in terms of natural resources or clean energy or tourism: he used the words 'and'," said NWT Chamber of Commerce president Richard Morland.

"And so the Opportunities North conference is about exploring all of the opportunities that are available to diversify the economy of the North, along with our anchor tenant, which is the resource industry.

"What we want to do is create an economy which is more insulated from the cyclic highs and lows that occur in a purely resource based economy."

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