The President and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce made a swing through the Southwestern Manitoba prior to last week's federal election. He spoke to Chamber members at a meeting in Deloraine.

Chuck Davidson says it was an opportunity to connect with chamber organizations in the region and discuss some of the issues that local businesses in the various communities are facing.

"This is obviously an area of the province that has been doing extremely well over the last number of years, and it's proximity to the border creates a variety of issues and opportunities. We have been big proponents of trying to do anything we can to increase tourism in Manitoba, specifically with the U.S. dollar and where it is right now, so that's a big push for us as well."

Davidson says there is a new provincial government in place and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce wants to determine how the provincial organization can better support the local chamber network so it can accurately represent what the business needs are throughout Manitoba.

"Some of the major issues I hear repeated in communities across the province is business competitiveness and how do we address work force issues. I'm hearing that today with local chambers and that's going to be part of that message that we'll be taking to the various ministers and the premier when we meet with them."

On the topic of a new provincial government, Davidson was asked if their relationship with Brian Pallister's Progressive Conservative government will be better than the one they had with the NDP.

"It will be a different relationship. The Tories have indicated that they have a bit of different focus with a more business friendly approach based on what they are looking for, such as efficiencies in government. What I"ve seen is a loss of business confidence in the last little while due to some uncertainty. I think we'll see a bit of a new direction in terms of building a business friendly climate that we need to really stimulate the business economy in Manitoba."