Staff shortage in Canmore, Banff worsens as visas expire, school resumes
Some shops resorting to shorter hours, younger workers
Some business owners along the Bow Valley in the Rockies say they're facing a staffing shortage as seasonal workers head back to school or out of the country.
The long-standing issue got worse last year in the wake of tighter rules for Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program, says Tulene Steiestol, spokesman for Canmore Business and Tourism.
"For the most part it just, it seems to me that the problem has always been there. We're just getting more vocal about it," Steiestol said.
While foreign staff on visas are returning to their home countries, others are leaving simply because they can't find affordable housing in the mountain towns.
"A lot of our businesses, they are mom-and-pop stores. They are owned and operated by people who live and work in this community. They don't have corporate offices behind them to support them so they're needing to get inventive," she said.
"They're needing to call on friends. They're needing to call on, like I said, those younger employees that are coming in that might be 14- or 15-years-old."
Despite a steady stream of customers at the Mountain Mercato market and cafe on Canmore's main retail street, co-owner Elana Levin says a staff shortage has forced the business to shut its doors one day a week.
"We've never had to do that in 10 years and it's hard to operate a business," she said.