In 1995 Nizar Mohammed left his job at a Calgary hotel to follow his entrepreneurial dreams. “Working in the tourist industry, I was always meeting people from many different countries, so I thought the way to go was with a store targeting tourists,” says Nizar who has operated Kanata Trading Post since then.
Starting from scratch, Nizar built Kanata Trading Post as a tribute to the old trading posts of the pioneer days on the prairies. And like those old trading posts, the products sold are as Canadian as you can find. Visitors can choose from soap stone carvings, inukshuks, and other pieces of Canadiana. Even the clothing is Canadian, with mukluks and moccasins prominently featured. “Now it’s a competitive market where everybody wants to sell the moccasins and mukluks,” says Nizar. “But at one time we were the only one selling them before they became famous.”
