Sunrise Corner’s Unprecedented Growth

By Angelique Forest

What started as a small initiative in 2016 to attract more people to visit the southeast corner of the Province has evolved into a tourism and economic development staple for the RMs of Piney and Stuartburn.

After its quick start in 2019, the councils of both RMs realized the need to expand the focus leading to the formation of the Piney Stuartburn Economic Development District. This new entity would soon become a guiding force behind “Sunrise Corner” and the hiring of a full-time economic development manager.

Monique Chenier fulfills that role and has seen the importance of the joint effort grow and gain recognition. She herself is nominated for an economic development award.

“These types of recognition programs give us yet another channel to raise awareness of all the great initiatives going on in our region,” said Chenier. “If promotion and media coverage of the award serves to attract people to look into our region as a place to move, set up a business, invest in housing development, or come visit, then all the better.”

Sunrise Corner is just one of the successful partnerships involving the neighbouring municipalities.

Key partnerships include the Piney Stuartburn Weed Control & Building Inspection District which is a long-standing partnership to share resources between the municipalities. Then there is the Buffalo Point Piney Stuartburn Waste Management Board formed to provide a home-grown solution to waste and recycling management.

Chenier believes this progressive partnership approach is important to keeping jobs in the region, and creates service levels specific to the needs of the ratepayers.

“We’ve done a great deal of community consultation to get a true understanding of how residents, businesses, volunteers, tourists, investors and other stakeholders would like to see our region grow,” she explained. She believes formula allows the region to progressively move in the right direction.

As Sunrise Corner’s first economic development manager, Chenier had a responsibility to start by focusing on foundational work that would provide strategic direction and the tools to achieve their goals.

In 2020, they undertook a five-year strategic plan for economic development following up with the implementation plan for the five priorities: business development, tourism, housing, marketing the region, and governance. The resulting matrix serves as the tool to set priorities and measure progress and success.

They have revamped the design, navigation and content of the Sunrise Corner Tourism website and created a new Sunrise Corner Economic Development site. These websites, promoted through an active social media campaign, provides current information to investors, businesses, residents, and tourists. They include a searchable business directory, event calendar, and active WorkFinder tool that connect residents seeking paid work or volunteer opportunities with local organizations. Over the past couple years they have also created several video series to share some of the highlights of the incredible people in the region both through Sunrise Corner and the very active Piney Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The “Incredible Sunrise Corner” series shares why Sunrise Corner is an incredible place to live, work, play, visit, invest and explore. They also created the “Sunrise Corner: Then & Now” series to highlight where they are today and where they came from. With the Chamber, they created the “Find Your Path” series where local workers share career opportunities with local youth that would enable them to stay in the region via three paths: direct to workforce, entrepreneurship and post-secondary. They also created the “Beyond the Pandemic” series of how the local Community Networkers, Positivity Spreaders and Growth Champions stepped up during the pandemic and beyond to help residents, organizations and businesses.

A detailed Community Profile, outlining all the reasons Sunrise Corner is an incredible place to live, work, play, visit, invest and explore was published both online and printed versions. This document is used as a tool to discuss opportunities with potential investors and attract new residents.

They have also been a key team member in developing the Shared Legacy Partnership, an initiative led by the Nature Conservancy of Canada with Sunrise Corner and Province of Manitoba. With funding provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada, their goal is to advance understanding of the wonder of Manitoba’s unique and endangered Tall Grass Prairie Natural Area, its relationship with agriculture, and the natural heritage that benefits all residents.

On the tourism front, they are a founding member of Eastman Tourism’s Experiential Tourism Program that helps local entrepreneurs create an experience where visitors actively and meaningfully engage with a place’s history, people, culture, food, and environment.

“We will be launching one of these Legendary Experiences this summer in Sunrise Corner,” said Chenier.

Chenier believes the greatest challenge she faces is simply the sheer number of opportunities that are arising as they get the word out about why Sunrise Corner. While opportunities are never taken off the table, prioritizing has become essential.

“Some initiatives will take some time to see results,” she admitted.

“On a personal level, it is very satisfying to come back to my home town and be in a position to contribute to positive change by building on the momentum of community volunteers, business owners, and the municipal staff and Councils,” said Chenier who confesses she loves her job and the area she grew up around. “It’s actually a bit of an adrenaline rush when you meet new people moving to the area who share my excitement about the potential of our region. Again, it’s all about progressively building a foundation for future growth that is sustainable and contributes to our exceptional rural quality of life.”

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