Indigenous Business of the Year Recipient

Sponsored By

Goodfish Lake Business Corp.

Mission Statement:

Goodfish Lake Business Corporation’s (GFLBC) mission statement was set in place by Chief Sam Bull and Council in 1976:

“To build a strong economic foundation that creates prosperity, employment for aboriginal people and protects the environment.”

Founders Story:

In 1976, Chief Sam Bull and the Whitefish Lake First Nation #128’s Economic Development Committee decided that if they couldn’t fight the lure of the Alberta oil sands, they would benefit from it and created the company now known as Goodfish Lake Business Corporation.

Starting with a small dry-cleaning facility and a local sewing club, GFLBC worked with Syncrude, and through their valuable support the business grew to the point that it began to manufacture coveralls and other industrial garments on the nation, in addition to cleaning them.

From this humble beginning, GFLBC continued to grow and now has a 10,000 ft2 manufacturing facility and a 11,000 ft2 industrial dry-cleaning facility on the nation plus wet and dry-cleaning plants in Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche, and a store in Edmonton.

In addition to ongoing profits from the business going back into the community, a significant opportunity for the nation was to create the ability to provide meaningful employment for Whitefish Lake First Nation #128’s band members.

Over the last fifty years of operation, over two generations of band members have worked at GFLBC. There is virtually no family in the community that hasn’t had a family member work for the company.

As of June 2026, GFLBC employs 140 permanent employees over 4 locations (Whitefish Lake, Lac La Biche, Fort McMurray and Edmonton), plus part time employees as required.

70% are indigenous employees with 88 band members of the Whitefish Lake First Nation #128 permanently employed.

We provide a full benefits package and matching pension to our employees.

Seasonal employment through GFLBC’s firefighting division adds another ~80 employees, virtually all indigenous employees, primarily from Whitefish Lake First Nation #128.

Despite being out of the way, with no paved roads, GFLBC’s daily semi-trailer runs 364 days a year to Fort McMurray, bringing the cleaned garments and picking up dirty garments to be cleaned. A fleet of trucks also service the Lakeland and Heartland 3 to 5 times per week.

GFLBC is wholly owned by Whitefish Lake First Nation #128 and has grown with several key expansions since its inception. 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of GFLBC operations.

In 2012, the leadership of the nation moved to create an independent board of directors to improve internal GFLBC governance to formally separate GFLBC’s business from the politics of the nation. Since that action was taken, the company has shown continuing profitable growth. Dividends from the profits of GFLBC are paid to the nation which help support infrastructure, education, and other nation needs.

The timeline of significant events went as follows:

• 1976 –Chief and Council’s Economic Development Committee starts the company by opening a small dry-cleaning facility on the nation and working with a local nation sewing club.
• 1980 – Sewing & Garment manufacturing business unit starts in a basement room of the old band office.
• 1989 – Construction of a new 10,000 ft2 manufacturing facility on the nation as garment sales grow.
• 2005 – Construction of a new 11,000 sq ft. industrial dry-cleaning facility.
• 2007 – ISO 14001 Certification
• 2012 – GFLBC improves governance by creating an independent Board of Directors.
• 2017 – Goodfish Lake Laundry opens in Edmonton
• 2018 – Goodfish Lake Laundry moves facility from Edmonton to Lac La Biche to serve oil and gas camps in the region.
• 2020 – Mass Production of covid masks
• 2021 – Protective Clothing Services open facility in Fort McMurray
• 2023 – Land Acquisition of 2,600 Hectares of deeded fee simple land and 95 contiguous grazing leases located adjacent to the north and northeast portions of the Nation’s home reserve. The increased land base will allow the Goodfish Lake Business Corporation to significantly expand the cattle operations and will provide other economic opportunities for Whitefish Lake First Nation #128 in the future.
• 2026 – Goodfish Lake Celebrates 50 Years of Business

Values and Capacity Investment:

Two significant elements of the GFLBC story are the values and ongoing investment in its employees through on-site management training, customer service and other education.

• GFLBC operates on the values as represented by the attached chart – the “Four R’s” of Responsibilities, Relationships, Resources and Results.
• GFLBC continues to invest in its employees, by providing the opportunity to get training on the job. Working closely with Portage College, training in all aspects of management studies.

GFLBC Services Offered:

• Goodfish Lake Sewing & Garment Manufacturing
• Goodfish Lake Laundry
• Goodfish Lake Wildland Firefighting Services
• Mother Earth Environmental Services
• Winterhawk Inspections and Industrial Solutions
• Goodfish Cattle Ranch
• Protective Clothing Supplies

Awards & Recognition:

• Tribal Chiefs Employment and Training Business Award (2022)
• Alberta Chamber of Commerce – Eagle Feather Business Award of Distinction (2002)
• Aboriginal Role Models of Alberta Award – Economic Development (2022)
• Alberta Business Award of Distinction – Alberta’s Best of Business (2020)