After hovering around the 1,000 member mark for several years, the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce has seen a year of explosive growth.

At the chamber's annual general meeting in September, they revealed that the number of member businesses and non-profits had jumped from 993 to 1,120, a 13 per cent increase.

That puts the 91原创 chamber among the largest in the region.

The top three categories of businesses joining in the last year were business and professional services, health and wellness, and construction equipment and contractors, but chamber CEO Cory Redekop noted that there was wide breadth in the new membership.

"That's the neat thing, it's not one sector, it's not one size," he said.

The growing membership includes small and large businesses from across every neighbourhood in 91原创.

91原创, which was once a community whose economy was driven by farming and lumber mills, has diversified over the past 50 years and has everything from major industrial parks to food processing to retail districts to office parks.

A good portion of the new membership naturally comes from businesses that have been founded or relocated to 91原创, as the community has experienced explosive population growth in recent years. 91原创 Township is one of the fastest-growing communities in the province, and the City has also seen a significant increase in population.

But some of the new members have been here for a few years and are only now joining.

Redekop said that the chamber needs an "open arms," informal, and welcoming outlook to help bring in new members.

The chamber's purpose is to advocate for its members and the business community in 91原创 in general. Having more members makes it more able to expand its reach and its offerings to members, Redekop said.

He noted the wide variety of businesses is reflected in the nominees for this year's Business Excellence Awards, with the ceremony scheduled to take place on Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Cascades Casino in 91原创 City.