From Immigrant to Entrepreneur: Strengthening Medicine Hat’s Economy

On any weekday morning, the front door of Nutone Cleaners swings open to a familiar rhythm – a steady stream of Hatters dropping off the suits, dresses, coats, and uniforms that keep the city moving. For more than 80 years, Nutone has been part of Medicine Hat’s daily life. But the most recent chapter of the business began with a newcomer, a leap of faith, and an opportunity that almost slipped away.

“Once I was here – settled down for thirteen years – I figured it was time to [own] a business. Once I noticed the new owner was retiring, I took over Nutone because it – and its 80-year history – is part of Medicine Hat.”

A Chapter Closed and a Door Opened

When James Lu first immigrated to Canada back in 2003, he arrived with a computer programming background and the hope of building a stable future in his new country. Like many newcomers, he worked hard, built a life, and slowly found his footing in a new country. Thirteen years after he first arrived, James felt ready for a new challenge: his own business and a chance to contribute and give back to the community.

Around that time, Nutone’s long-time owner, Bob Garbutt, was preparing to end a long career and finally enter retirement. After over 70 years, Nutone Cleaners was at risk of closing its doors to Medicine Hat for good. For many, this was just the way of things – the business had a great run, but time ran its course, and it was time to close.

When James found out about the impending retirement, he saw something different: a community fixture worth preserving. After spending over a decade building a life in Canada while working as a software engineer, James felt it was time to go into business for himself. Instead of letting Nutone close for good, James stepped forward – not just to buy a business, but to protect jobs, maintain a local service, and build something for the long term.

Growing a Local Business

Under James’s leadership, Nutone Cleaners didn’t just survive the ownership transition – it thrived. For eight consecutive years, from 2014 to 2021, the business was voted Medicine Hat’s #1 dry cleaner in the Medicine Hat News Readers’ Choice Awards. Then, in 2024, Nutone expanded to a new Dunmore Road location.

With that expansion came new opportunities to hire more locals, provide service to a broader area of the city, and develop more capacity to support seniors and people with disabilities through laundering services with pick-up and delivery. A business once facing closure is now contributing to economic growth on two sides of the city.

Misleading Myth vs. Real Impact

Stories like this matter because they reflect what national data shows us again and again:

• Most immigrants are economic contributors, not dependents. Despite common misconceptions about immigrants and the use of government support funds, immigrants (as a group) contribute more to government coffers than they receive in benefits. Specifically, the average immigrant pays $3,000 more in taxes than they receive in benefits.
• Instead of taking jobs, immigrants are more likely to create job opportunities as essential factors in the long-term health and growth of the economy. From 2016 to 2021, immigrants drove 80% of Canada’s labour force growth, helping drive the economy and maintain federal/provincial tax bases. 
• Immigrants – not Canadian born residents – are more likely to open a business as one survey found immigrants were twice as likely to be entrepreneurs (2.9% vs 1.5% for men). And, although they only represent 17% of total businesses, they create 25% of new jobs.

In other words: newcomer entrepreneurs don’t just build businesses. They build workforces, careers, and communities.

Integration Happens in the Day-to-Day

Talk to James or his employee, and they’ll tell you that integration isn’t complicated. It happens in everyday interactions – conversations with customers, community events, local habits and values slowly becoming your own.

Canada’s 2021 Census backs this up:

• 92.7% of recent immigrants can hold a conversation in English or French.
• After 10 years, 76.4% speak an official language at home.
• Many volunteer, join clubs, and get involved locally.

People find their place here – just like James did, and just like his employee is doing now.

Why This Matters for Medicine Hat’s Future

Nutone Cleaners’ story is ultimately a succession story: a long-standing local business handed over to someone who cared enough to carry it forward. Without that transition, Medicine Hat might have lost a service that has supported residents for generations.

Instead, we gained a stable multi-location business, new local jobs, and a model for what successful succession planning looks like. In the process, Nutone represents the perfect intersection of many of Medicine Hat Economic Development’s priorities. Nutone Cleaners demonstrates why attracting, retaining, and supporting immigrants is not just good social policy – it’s smart economic development strategy. 
Medicine Hat’s future workforce, business landscape, and entrepreneurial ecosystem all benefit when newcomers are afforded an opportunity to thrive. 

A Local Business, A Larger Lesson

Nutone Cleaners isn’t just a dry-cleaning service. It shows what can happen when a community welcomes newcomers – and when newcomers seize the opportunity to invest back into the community. People like James and his employees. People who choose to live and work in Medicine Hat and, in doing so, help shape what it becomes next.

It’s a reminder that the future of Medicine Hat’s workforce depends on people willing to invest, grow, and thrive here.

Business Information

Nutone Cleaners offers tailoring, laundry, and dry-cleaning services at two locations in Medicine Hat. You can learn more about them at nutonecleaners.ca by visiting their website or calling them at +1 403 526 6000. 

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