BC Economy

The economic global landscape has been in flux over the past two years. While BC’s economy recovered robustly in 2021 and has remained relatively strong into 2022, there are growing concerns for a potential economic downturn.

VANCOUVER, June 20, 2022 –  According to BC Check-Up: Live, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on demographic and affordability trends across the province, B.C.’s population growth continued to decline into 2021.

An economic update on consumer spending, growing labour shortages, and inflationary and interest rate pressures.

ESG has gone from being an area of focus for a small number of organizations to something that is very mainstream. And we have seen an incredible shift towards ESG, both in terms of society at large, and also businesses seeing ESG as fundamental to how they operate and how they engage with their stakeholders. It’s fair to say that ESG is now business-critical and that recognition is becoming more and more widespread.

Responsible investment  has been around for 20 years. What began as corporate social responsibility, and has grown considerably in recent years towards the more holistic concept of environmental, social, and corporate governance, commonly known as ESG. 

CPABC’s latest report highlights strong investment recovery across BC, but challenges remain

With the extreme weather we’ve experienced in BC throughout 2021, it is evident that everyone has a role to play in ensuring environmental sustainability for the future. 

As 2021 came to an end, BC’s unemployment rate stood at 5.3% in December. That was a small decline from 5.6%  in November and well below the 8.0% rate at the start of 2021. 

How a radical business model is changing the goal for business

In November 2021, BC’s unemployment rate stood at 5.6%, remaining the same as in October. While BC’s unemployment rate remains well above the 4.6% set in January 2020, it has decreased considerably from 8.0% in January 2021, and 13.4% in May 2020, the peak of unemployment during the pandemic. 

To gauge what emerging trends to expect this holiday season, PwC Canada recently surveyed Canadian consumers and released its 2021 Canadian Holiday Outlook report.

The issue of inflation continues to be significant for employee benefits, as there continues to be pressure on businesses to maintain these plans.

CPABC's BC Check-Up: Work report looks at emerging employment trends across the province.

BC’s workforce has slightly exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to recent data that shows provincial employment up by 28,200 jobs this September when compared to September 2019. 

According to the BC Check-Up: Work, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on employment trends across the province, B.C.’s unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent in September 2021, down from 8.6 per cent in September 2020.

CPABC’s 2022-2023 Budget Submission recommends the province focus on tax and program reform to improve our province’s productivity. 

As British Columbia recovers from its worst recession in 40 years, it is important that the provincial government focuses on modernizing its tax system to boost business productivity and promote long-term economic growth.

“If Canada is to meet its long-term objectives, sustainable finance must become, simply, finance. In other words, climate change opportunity and risk management need to become business-as-usual in financial services, and embedded in everyday business decisions, products and services.”

BC Check-Up: Live report looks at demographic and affordability trends across the province

Amongst the many survey findings of the 2021 PwC CEO Survey, Canadian chief executives expect the global economy to see a robust recovery over the next year and a majority expect to grow their workforce. But for businesses to make the most of this opportunity, they need to rethink the workplace and invest in their employees. 

B.C.’s population growth declined by nearly a third in 2020 to only 56,757 new residents.

After eleven consecutive months of job gains in BC, April marked a set back as both the province and the country as a whole saw total employment decline.

March 2021 marked a full year since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed British Columbia into a state of emergency. Over the past year, the world has traversed a balancing act between protecting the health and safety of individuals while simultaneously attempting to minimize the economic fallout necessary to do so. 
 

The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) commends the government for investing in our healthcare system in Budget 2021 as the province continues to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 19, 2021, the Government of Canada released its first budget since the pandemic began. Here’s a short overview.

In the lead up to 2020, Southwest B.C. experienced record levels of housing construction activity, private investment, and business activity.

BC saw another month of job gains in February 2021, marking the tenth consecutive month of employment levels improving since the low witnessed in April 2020. The increase helped lower the unemployment rate to 6.9%, a sizeable decline from the peak of 13.4% seen in May 2020 but above the 5.0% rate in February 2020. 

In the years leading up to 2020, Greater Victoria’s investment activity was thriving with a growing number of active businesses, strong housing starts, and robust economic growth. Unfortunately, the region’s economy took a significant dip due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the eighth consecutive month, BC’s workforce expanded in December. However, the most recent data shows that BC’s growth rate continues to slow considerably from rates seen earlier in the recovery, and for the first time since April, Canada as a whole saw an employment loss. 

An update on anti-money-laundering initiatives

While COVID-19 hasn’t exactly quashed the possibility of having shared fitness experiences, it’s certainly changed what that looks like. And businesses that facilitate—or even simulate—togetherness seem poised to dominate the market. 

To better understand BC’s tech ecosystem, we spoke with BC Tech’s president and CEO, Jill Tipping, FCPA, FCA and KPMG’s Greater Vancouver Area’s industry lead partner, George Kondopulos, CPA, CA on findings from the latest BC Technology Report Card.

According to the BC Check-Up: Work, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on employment trends across the province, Southwest B.C.’s unemployment rate hit 12.3 per cent in the Summer of 2020 (June to August). 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the way consumers preferred to shop had begun to morph, with an increasing demand for in-store experiences, greater e-commerce, and more sustainable products. The COVID-19 pandemic has only expedited these trends.

Economic data from July indicates that BC is continuing to rebound from the historic lows that began in March. However, the employment rebound has been disproportionately spread across sectors, and areas of consumer spending have shifted since pre-crisis. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the way British Columbians work and live. Over the past few months, businesses across the province closed their doors, displacing a large portion of the workforce.

After March and April brought historic collapses in employment, consumer activity, exports, and increasingly negative GDP forecasts, new data continues to suggest the worst of the economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us. While the situation remains precarious, June data shows the economy is continuing its rebound that began in May. 

As we continue to navigate through these unprecedented times of uncertainty, achieving resilience and forging new opportunities is top of mind across industries. PwC’s 52nd BC Mining Report, “ESG: Resilience and opportunities in uncertain times”, highlights how BC’s mining industry, a long-term driver of the province’s economy, has continued to evolve and affect progressive change in issues such as health and safety, community engagement, and environmental impacts – topics that will only continue to rise in importance.

How has containing COVID-19 impacted BC’s economy? Recent data is beginning to illustrate what this looks like.

On May 6, 2020, the BC government announced its plans to re-open the economy, eight weeks after declaring a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement came as BC’s situation looks increasingly positive, with declining total cases and the lowest per capita cases across any jurisdiction with over five million people in Canada, the US, and western Europe.

How has containing COVID-19 impacted BC’s economy? Recent data is beginning to illustrate what this looks like. 

As we better understand the implications of COVID-19 on our society and the measures required to curb its growth, organizations are updating their economic forecasts in real-time. 

If there’s one thing we know about COVID-19, it's that it has brought incredible uncertainty to our lives. It has also brought uncertainty about the state of our economy. 

The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) commends the government for achieving a balanced budget while still investing in social and capital projects.

Are you considering the flip-side of your Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance? Climate change is transforming the game for businesses on several fronts—from policy to technologies to market trends. 

Export of goods and services make up 38 per cent of B.C.’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As exports are a vital part of our economy, it is crucial that we continue to focus on exploring and diversifying our export products and markets.