It's now the worst-kept secret in Canada; Winkler is one of the best cities in the country when it comes to entrepreneurship.

"We know things are going well, we hear successes in our local community... but we don't realize how many good things are really happening here," Winkler Chamber of Commerce President Darren Heide says. "It's a big honour to be recognized as number two."

Winkler beat out almost every major Canadian city to be reach the second spot in the CFIB's best communities for entrepreneurship in 2018. The report weighed Canada's 125 most populous communities in 13 key indicators including earning levels, optimism, growth plans and local tax policy.

"There's certainly a lot of confidence in our local economy... it's great to see," Heide says, adding City Council is committed to supporting the business community by keeping taxes low and reducing red tape.

Only Whitehorse edged out the Southern Manitoba community for the top spot. Winkler was the only Manitoba community to break the top 20. Brandon came next at 23, and Winnipeg at 57.

Winkler Mayor Martin Harder, Winkler Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tanya Chateauneuf, and Dilis Owner Dina Harder, one of the many new businesses in Winkler

Mayor Martin Harder says supporting entrepreneurs comes down to three key factors: taxes, young entrepreneurs and a heritage of fostering local businesses.

"We always want to maintain a level of taxation that's on the bottom end of the scale rather than the top," Harder says.

In the CFIB report, 25 percent of self-employed individuals in Winkler are aged 15-34. "These are our future entrepreneurs. These are the people we've been so used to starting businesses in a small way, one or two employees, and growing to the size of Elias Woodworking, Icon Technologies... to me that's very encouraging for the long term growth and stability of our business community."

Local entrepreneurs Frank and Donna Klassen opened Obstacle Warriors in Winkler last November. Donna say people aren't afraid to start a business in Winkler. "Everyone knows everyone, so we're better at supporting people in the community. You start small, you start in your basement and slowly build it into something bigger."

"You gotta run that chance, get out of the basement and take it to the public and see, "can I sustain myself?"' Donna says. "You just gotta put yourself out there and hope that people will want what you're offering."

She adds the city is addressing the issues facing the growth of the business community.

"It's been layer upon layer of good decisions by the chamber and council going back to the 90's and beyond, like the H.F Wiebe era that said, "we want to have a job for every student that graduates." That whole mentality? It's what we're built on... strong entrepreneurship, strong leadership, that's what we have in Winkler."

Below is the top ten places in Canada for entrepreneurs according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business:

1 Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
2 Winkler, Manitoba
3 Victoriaville, Quebec
4 Rimouski, Quebec
5 Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec
6 Collingwood, Ontario*
6 Grande Prairie, Alberta*
8 Saint-Georges, Quebec
9 Val-d'Or, Quebec
10 Squamish, British Columbia

Winkler Council celebrates the sod turning of the Meridian Exhibition Centre