Fort Erie companies win Chamber business, entrepreneur awards

Airbus Helicopters Canada won Business of the Year at the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) awards on June 17, hours after the Gilmore Road plant handed the Royal Canadian Air Force the first of 19 helicopters it built under a new defence contract.

The Fort Erie aircraft builder shared the night with a second local winner, Niacon founder Chris Hawkswell, who took Entrepreneur of the Year.

Safari Niagara, the Stevensville zoo, reached the finalist round for Business of the Year and the Excellence in Business Award for companies with 26 or more employees.

The GNCC is the largest business group in the region, with about 1,300 member companies, charities and institutions.

The Chamber handed out the awards before 375 people at the Holiday Inn & Suites in St. Catharines.

Airbus delivered the first of 19 Juno helicopters to the Royal Canadian Air Force on June 17, the same day as the awards. That order will keep its workforce of more than 250 busy on Gilmore Road until 2028.

Hawkswell has run Niagara construction company Niacon since 1989.

In Fort Erie, Hawkswell’s HAWK Development has a six-unit apartment underway on Shannon Avenue and a self-storage site moving through approvals on Garrison Road. Two more projects sit at the zoning stage: apartments on Elmwood Avenue and a retail building on Erie Road.

Mishka Balsom, CEO of the GNCC, said the winners proved what ambition paired with integrity can build.

“Their success reflects the strength of Niagara’s economy and the people behind it: employers, entrepreneurs, teams, and partners who are building opportunity every day,” said Balsom in a news release.

Its next round of awards will open for nominations in early 2027.

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