Community spirit was on full display as residents gathered for a free barbecue to mark Economic Development Week. The event, held on May 13, was organized by the city’s economic development team and featured food, ice cream, and a healthy dose of local pride.
Rebecca Foord, the city’s economic development coordinator, said the turnout exceeded expectations.
“It has been an absolutely great turnout,” Ford said. “We’ve had businesspeople come out, we’ve had families, kids—just people interested in what the community is doing. It’s been a really wonderful day.”
Southern Plains Co-op sponsored all the food, while Affinity Credit Union covered ice cream for the first 50 attendees. Foord Trucking stepped in to provide the ice cream for the next 50 customers. When the crowd kept growing, the Cherry on Top volunteered to sponsor the rest of the ice cream as well.
The event was part of a province-wide push by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance to encourage communities to recognize and support local economic efforts. Foord credited Estevan Mayor Tony Sernick with coming up with the idea for the barbecue.
Foord said events like this are about more than just food—they’re about building connections.
“It’s just a great way for people to come together,” she said. “You can meet people in a more casual setting than just passing them in a grocery store. It’s also a great way for our businesses to network and be celebrated.”
Estevan’s Economic Development Week celebrations continue tomorrow with a free public presentation by Chris Fields at Southeast College titled Follow the Leader, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Looking ahead, Foord said there's a lot to be excited about in Estevan’s economic future—from the SMR (small modular reactor) project to expansion plans in energy and industry. But with growth comes responsibility, and one of the biggest local challenges is housing.
“Housing is one of those big things,” Foord said. “Turnover is happening fast in the market. We want to make sure people have places to live when they come here to work or start a business.”
She said the city is working to align with provincial and federal rental suite incentive programs to help address the issue and is exploring grants for new housing developments.
"A big thank you again to all of our sponsors and everybody who came out today. It's been such a great week, and this is truly the greatest communityin my mind and it's just really great to see," said Foord. "And economic development is absolutely for everybody. So it's just really nice to see and to really showcase that today."
Mayor Tony Sernick said the event, which quickly ran out of food, reflects growing enthusiasm in the community.
While the event offered a fun afternoon for families and local businesspeople, Sernick said it also highlighted the city’s renewed focus on economic development — something that became a top priority following the province’s shift away from coal.
“Going back to 2019, we had to face the elephant in the room with the coal plants shutting down,” he said. “We found ourselves pinned in a corner and had to start thinking differently about how to attract anything we could to Estevan.”
That challenge, he said, has sparked a transformation in attitude and direction.
“Now we have the Tech Hub, everyone’s on board, and the attitude around town has changed,” Sernick said. “In 2020, people thought we’d be a ghost town. Now in 2025, we’re looking like a boomtown. If the coal plants get rebuilt, with nuclear SMRs, oil taking off, and multilateral drilling — everything’s pointing in the right direction.”
He believes Estevan’s momentum is turning heads across the province.
“Other communities are jealous — that’s what you want,” Sernick said. “That’s why I became a councillor, and now mayor — to get that message out there whenever I can. Over the past four years, council has really leaned into that.”
Sernick said that events like the Economic Development BBQ are an important way to build connections and maintain momentum.
“There are businesspeople here, families enjoying the park — just getting everyone together. You get fed, you get watered, and hopefully you meet someone new today. Everyone’s friendly. It’s about community.”