The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce says there was “record-breaking participation” in 2025’s #ShopYK campaign, which received nearly 1,000 more submissions than last year’s event.
#ShopYK is organized by the chamber and the city ahead of the holiday shopping season to encourage residents to shop local, enticing them with the chance to win prizes in exchange for supporting the 40 local businesses that participated this year.
In 2025, the event received 2,229 eligible submissions for the grand prize draw and tracked $416,660 in local spending at participating businesses.
Those figures are significantly higher than last year’s totals of 1,283 draw submissions and $212,191 in tracked spending.
The event started on November 12 and wrapped up on December 14, finishing with draws for the big-ticket gift card prize packs.
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Christina Larkin took home first place with $2,000 in local gift cards, Mahasi Ortega snagged second place and received $1,000 in gift cards, and Kyle MacPhee was drawn for the third place prize of $500 in gift cards.
There were also four weekly draws, where 10 winners each week received a $125 gift card.
The chamber said in a news release that by purchasing prizes from participating local businesses, #ShopYK also helped keep dollars circulating in the Yellowknife economy.
