North Peace entrepreneur credits family and mentors after provincial business award
Courtnall Apsassin was golfing with his mother when he learned the company he started three years ago had won a provincial Indigenous Business Award. She was right beside him when the news came through on a Microsoft Teams call, and had been the one to nominate his business.
"My first reaction was honestly disbelief, followed by an overwhelming feeling of pride and excitement," Apsassin told the Alaska Highway News.
Okimawa Services Inc., founded in 2023 by the Blueberry River First Nations member, has been named Business of the Year in the one-to-two person enterprise category through the BC Achievement Foundation's 2026 Indigenous Business Awards.
Headquartered in Fort St. John and Moberly Lake, Okimawa provides electrical installation, maintenance and energy services across Northern B.C.
The award marks quite a change from where Apsassin was three years ago, working as an equipment operator for 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. He was making a good living, but the hours were wearing on him, and he had always wanted to become an electrician.
"I started Okimawa because I wanted more out of life," he said.
He left equipment operating, began labouring and worked on a plan to start his own business. His father passed along the contact information for Dustin Stirling of Epscan, which eventually led to an opportunity with AltaGas.
"I approached Dustin with the hope of starting my own company and becoming an electrician. I had no previous electrical experience, but I was determined to learn and willing to put in the work."
Apsassin started as a first-year electrical apprentice and is now in his third year, with plans to return to school for fourth-year training in January 2027.
He credits Stirling for giving him a chance and his mentor, Dave Dickinson, for helping him learn the trade, particularly the importance of doing the work safely and properly.
Epscan congratulated Apsassin publicly, saying he had demonstrated "how one person can create opportunities, inspire others to pursue careers in the skilled trades, and contribute to a stronger future for Indigenous communities and Northern BC as a whole."
At home, Apsassin says he has relied just as much on his mother's guidance and the support of his wife, Vanessa, who keeps their family running while he pursues his career.
"This accomplishment is just as much hers as it is mine," he said of Vanessa.
For Apsassin, bringing the award home to the North Peace is another source of pride.
"This is home, and I'm proud of where I come from," he said. "I hope it shows younger Indigenous people in our communities that you don't have to leave Northern B.C. to pursue your ambitions or build something successful."
As Okimawa grows, Apsassin hopes to create employment and apprenticeship opportunities for other Indigenous workers, passing along the same chance someone once gave him.
"I'd love to eventually give someone else the same opportunity that was given to me."
Apsassin will be honoured at the Indigenous Business Award Gala in Vancouver on November 4.
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