‘Wealth of experience, energy’: Buhse set for Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce board chair role

It was a series of swaps: a pink suit — but perhaps too bold — so a black suit, and then back to pink.

All occurred before Amanda Buhse’s first board meeting with the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

“I maybe stood out or looked a little bit different, but I think it was me being authentic,” said Buhse, founder of popular candle brand Coal and Canary.

“I think our chamber’s strength comes from having voices that reflect the full spectrum of how business gets done in Winnipeg.”

Buhse will become the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s 131st board chair on Oct. 9, during the chamber’s annual general meeting.

She takes the leadership position — for an organization with around 2,000 business members — as global trade ties shift and tariffs abound.

Buhse is among the entrepreneurs to drastically change her company over the past four years, partly because of global events.

The most recent change: preparing to not sell one of Coal and Canary’s most popular holiday offerings, a box set of five votive candles. Tariffs affected the purchase of votive glasses when the sale needed to happen, Buhse said.

She hasn’t been able to find a Canadian alternative for the small containers. Many of her other inputs — Coal and Canary’s larger glasses, boxes, fragrances — are now sourced within Canada.

Those suppliers were recruited in 2021, as supply chains were upended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The whole landscape in retail has changed a lot,” Buhse said. “We’re … finding that a lot of Americans want to purchase American made, and again, Canadians want to support Canadian made.”

She’s focused on selling within Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Buhse’s breadth of experience will be useful in the board chair role — especially during a period of economic uncertainty, said Loren Remillard, president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

“The hardships, the reality and the innovation that she’s encountered and had to embrace will serve all businesses,” Remillard continued. “She brings a wealth of experience, energy that I have never seen before.”

Buhse started making candles with a friend in her kitchen following a miscarriage; it began as a fun outlet and connection point. The duo launched Coal and Canary in 2014.

Since then, the business has accumulated upwards of 250 candle scents and landed its products in Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe awards swag bags.

It’s moved roughly six times over the past 11 years, Buhse said. She bought out her business partner around five years ago; now, she and her husband Jeff run operations.

Coal and Canary previously occupied a 10,000 square-foot warehouse near the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport. When the lease ended last summer, Buhse chose to downsize and move production near her Beausejour home.

She and Jeff learned to be more efficient during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they had to lay off staff due to in-person contact restrictions, she said.

“I turned 40 and I just thought, ‘This is a really great time to reflect on what I want the next five years of my life to look like,’” Buhse said of the recent move. “It was important to focus my time on my family and my friends.

“I’m ready to just slow down a little bit, and I’m excited about it — and it’s on purpose.”

She plans to use her platform to promote good mental health and help entrepreneurs who are feeling burned out or ready for a change, she said.

Buhse co-founded Coal and Canary when she was 29. Championing young entrepreneurship and talent retention is among her top goals as new board chair, she said.

So is strengthening community within the chamber membership, and drawing in new people. Advocating for business-friendly policies — especially with a 2026 civic election around the corner — is another objective, Buhse said.

“She has a way to bring people together and has some really good ideas about growing the chamber and building our business community,” said Kevin Selch, outgoing chamber chair and the founder of Little Brown Jug Brewing Co.

Buhse has been on the chamber’s board since 2021. Bob Somers, a principal at Scatliff + Miller + Murray, will become incoming chair.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com