Still Standing

Skidegate, BC is home to the Haida Nation, who sacrificed its economic prosperity for the preservation of its culture and land. In other words, the exact opposite story of how Vegas was built. Despite the hardships, the Haida people are harnessing that warrior spirit to fight for its survival and a sustainable future for generations to come.

Vanastra, ON was once a top secret military base responsible for training the original RADAR technicians that would eventually end World War II. But now its buildings are crumbling, and the residents are shouting from the rooftops (or rather what's left of them) that they are open for business. Ideally this time the word gets out so the town can be put back on the radar where it belongs.

The beautiful harbour community of Georgetown, PEI works hard to keep itself looking ship-shape despite their poor financial state. Like a college student that spends all their loan money on nice clothes. There is hope that a wave of tourism is on the horizon, and Georgetown plans to be ready when its proverbial, and literal, ships come in!

Fort Coulonge QC was once a thriving logging town whose famous white pine helped build great cities like Chicago and New York, and whose way of life helped inspire great fashion like with Hipsters. Today the town is on the ropes. But an entrepreneurial woman who discovered her roots is going out on a limb to lead the community in making it grow strong once more.

To outsiders, the mountain pine beetle sounds like is a harmless, fresh-smelling insect. But to residents of Telkwa, BC they are the destructive little stinkers that decimated the town's once prominent logging industry. Though the forests have less bark, the people have plenty of bite and continue to "get ‘er done" in the face of adversity.

While the surrounding areas flourish from the Ottawa Valley tech boom, Eganville ON has been left behind to struggle with empty storefronts, a dwindling population, and passing motorists who see little reason to stop. Since spike strips aren't "tourist-friendly", the town is hoping its majestic white water river will float peoples' boats enough to get them out of their cars.

Successful "rail" and "hotel" businesses don't just represent part of a solid Monopoly game strategy. For the people of McAdam NB, they represent a time when the town's glorious buildings were the talk of the eastern seaboard. Now the floundering community is looking to the historic railway to get them back on track.

The people of Inuvik, which was once a hub of the Northwest Territories, are hopeful that the highway will put their town on the road to recovery.

When companies, canneries and the young left Mabou, Novascotia, the town rose above to create a unique cultural experience.

Once known as the cattle capital of Canada, the town of Maple Creek is returning to its western town glory after a series of tragedies.

Jonny Harris introduces us to Evelyn Bernard, a dew worm hunter who also makes daily social media posts about living in her small town of Tignish, PEI.

Jonny bikes down Montana Mountain, tries his hand at Tlingit artwork and braves the bees to help expand the colony at the local apiary.

Jonny tries to keep up with the Run Club, harvests crops at the community garden and dips into the very serious ick-factor of making Kombucha.

Jonny helps prep some purebred bulls for auction, visits the town's ‘Newfoundland Cul-de-Sac' and gets taken hostage by the RCMP.

After its schools and businesses closed, Cobalt, Ont., is rebuilding its reputation as a rough-and-tumble mining town.

When Canada was in its infancy, a small but fierce group of Danish immigrants settled in N.B. Today, their descendants hold on to their Danish roots.

The future is uncertain for environmentally-sensitive Pelee Island, but those who call the island home are committed to ensuring that their unique jewel is around for generations to come. 

Without any industry or formal government, 'making it' in Bear River requires a sense of enterprise, a communal spirit and a touch of the outlaw. 

Lillooet's forestry-based economy is heading downhill — permanently. But its rugged residents are committed to fighting the good fight to ensure they can stay in their beautiful town. 

When the bottom fell out of Southwestern Ontario's tobacco industry, Vittoria's farmers were forced to reinvent themselves and figure out how to farm different crops on the same land in order to survive. 

When a highway bypass connecting Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula to the rest of the province was paved, Woody Point became a dead end with a grounded ferry. Since then, the town has managed to reinvent itself as a world-class destination. 

In 2024, Pinawa's nuclear research facility and main employer are slated to be decommissioned, which has Pinawanians working hard to make sure that doesn't spell the end for their unique town. 

Ingenuity and resilience are hallmark traits of Cap-Pelé, a small Acadian fishing village in New Brunswick that has seen its fair share of struggles. 

Ever since the closure of a nearby mill shut down Botwood's busy port, the town has been working hard to revive industry and draw former residents back home. 

When oil and gas was struck elsewhere, Turner Valley was left with not much more than abandoned wells and an out-of-date processing plant. But a fresh new crop of entrepreneurs is emerging from the ashes and redefining this former boomtown. 

The economy of Rankin Inlet has seen its ups and downs, but the struggles that come with living in this remote and unforgiving landscape remain constant. 

Locals like to say that ‘all roads lead to Hope'. It's a place to gas up and a place to ‘go,' but locals want it to be known that the town is more than just a place to pee — it's a place to be.

When Port Stanley's prosperous commercial fishing industry collapsed, the beach town was left with an identity crisis and an uncertain future.

While its tourist train dollars are long gone, the proudly-weird town of Wakefield is reimagining itself as a place known for culture and outdoor fun.

Things looked bad for Chemainus when its sawmill closed in 1983. Then, the town used gorgeous murals to draw in tourists. Now it's looking for the next generation of visionaries to keep it on the map

Each week, the CBC TV series "Still Standing", hosted by comedian Jonny Harris, features a small Canadian community that's doing its best to make things work. This week, the show visits Membertou First Nation.

Jonny Harris travels to the Osoyoos Indian Band in British Columbia to find out why this Indigenous community in the desert has been called "the Miracle in the Desert".

Jonny visits Glace Bay, Nova Scotia to find out how Canada's once-largest coal town lost its mines.

In Arnprior, Ontario, Jonny Harris finds out how the collapse of its aviation industry led to the final shift of aerospace workers clocking out in March 2024.

Jonny Harris visits Acton, Ontario, to find that its 165-year-old leather industry may have collapsed, but it's fighting hard to resist decline. 

Jonny Harris travels to Lennox Island, PEI where he sees first-hand how climate change is causing the sea to swallow up this small coastal Mi'kmaw community in PEI.

In June 2025 Flin Flon faced a fresh challenge when wildfires forced residents to evacuate. Host: Jonny Harris.