To be part of New Dawn is to constantly experience the felt sense that
the best is yet to come.Rankin MacSween, The Search for a New Way: The Story of New Dawn Enterprises
In the conclusion of his comprehensive history of New Dawn Enterprises, published in 2023, Rankin reflected on the first four decades of the organization: “New Dawn has always been about helping to correct the systemic conditions underlying [the] status quo and moving the community beyond its dependence to a place of confidence.”
Cape Breton was a different place in 1976. The federal government wielded great power and influence amid the decline of steel and coal and that extended beyond economic support – the public sector became a source of leadership in a community struggling to reimagine itself in this new post-industrial reality. Rankin described it: “It was as though a large force sat itself down in the centre of the Island, and the weight and size of its power, authority, and influence overshadowed everything else.”
Rooted in the grassroots community development tradition of the Antigonish Movement, New Dawn began with the intention to address immediate and ongoing community needs through social enterprise. From dental clinics to affordable housing to Meals on Wheels to a welding college to settlement support for newcomers, New Dawn has shifted over the years to meet the changing needs of the community.
New Dawn is private, self-sustaining, and governed by a voluntary board of directors. Its vision for the community is “a self-reliant people in a vibrant community.” For more than forty years the organization has aspired to embody the spirit and principles of the Antigonish Movement, including Moses Coady’s declaration that people can become “masters of their own destiny.”
For me, New Dawn’s work has been centred on two basic questions: why is this magnificent region so enduringly poor and why are the region’s troubles so frustratingly difficult to remedy? After a lifetime devoted to community development, it is clear the Island’s challenges are rooted in politics, culture, and history, as much as economics. This means that to be effective, our efforts must be rooted in healing and community-building as well as economic development.
Rankin MacSween, The Search for a New Way: The Story of New Dawn Enterprises
Today, as New Dawn approaches its 50th anniversary and looks toward the next 50 years, it is as a community leader – a strong voice for compassion, love, and inclusion, a courageous force for positive change and sustainable growth, and a beacon of hope and optimism.
In the final chapter of his book, Rankin described the core features of New Dawn, looking at the values, characteristics, and methods that have developed over time to make New Dawn what it is today.
Listen to Rankin read Chapter 13 – “A New Narrative”:
Read Chapter 13 here.
Gathering together in Iona is an opportunity to not only look back on the extraordinary work of the organization and its impact on Cape Breton Island, but to dream, plan and prepare for what lies ahead. It is with gratitude and a deep commitment to our community that we chart the course for the next 50 years.
Where have we been? What have we learned? Where are we going?
At the time of publication, New Dawn was in its forty-seventh year. The organization is well into its second generation and the third generation is within sight. Most of those of the first generation have completed their terms, retired, or died. Like the cathedral builders of old, they will not be present to the end, though this never hindered their energetic contribution. Likewise, those who now comprise the organization share the understanding that they are part of a long-term community-building effort and will also not see the end. The second generation has been gifted with the hope engendered by the first and they in turn will bestow this same gift on those who follow.
Rankin MacSween, The Search for a New Way: The Story of New Dawn Enterprises