Around 100 people signed up for the Rural Islands Economic Partnership 2025 Virtual Forum. At least 10 were from Cortes Island and there were others from Quadra, Bowen, Texada, Hornby, Denman, Cormorant, Malcolm and the Gulf Islands, as well as the Broughton Archipelago. Several of the topics were of great importance to islanders. One of the foremost was Aaron Cruikshank’s analysis of the impact US tariffs will have on island economies and what we can do about it.

Cruikshank is the founder of CTRS, a Market intelligence company from the Lower Mainland that has worked with hundreds of organizations and governments over the past 20 years.