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March 2015 B.C. Economic Fundamentals

Ally

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News articles for March 2015.
 

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Metro Vancouver 'Yes' vote would boost transit funding considerably

The results of a new study indicate that a “Yes” vote for the Mayors’ Transportation and Transit Plan would mean a significant boost to the regional economy and transit funding.

The study was done by economists at InterVISTAS Consulting Group, who found that the Plan “would add an average of $450 million per year to the regional economy through the first 10 years of the plan roll-out; and $1.6 billion per year by 2045.”

Read the full article here.
 

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Prince Rupert's port to expand by 500,000 containers

A container terminal at a northern British Columbia port announced an expansion Tuesday that will increase the facility’s capacity by nearly 60 per cent.

Maher Terminals said it’s expanding its Fairview Container Terminal at the Prince Rupert Port to handle 1.3 million containers per year, from its current capacity of 850,000 units.

Read the full article here.
 

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Surrey to see some of Canada's highest hiring growth this quarter

Job-seekers in Surrey have good reason to feel optimistic over the next few months.

The net hiring outlook – defined as the percentage of employers planning to hire minus the percentage of those planning to decrease their staffing levels – for Surrey in 2015’s second quarter is 27%, according to the results of a Manpower survey released March 10.

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Why finance minister Joe Oliver isn't intervening in Canada's housing market

OTTAWA — In March of 2013, then Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did something few politicians would dare: scolding Canada’s banks for racing “to the bottom” on mortgage rates at a time when the housing market was already frothing.

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Wealth Transfer Driving
Vancouver House Prices (Not Just Overseas Buyers)


In the past couple of weeks we’ve seen how Greater Vancouver’s house prices are on a seemingly unstoppable upward trajectory, with the real estate board reporting that February benchmark prices are up 6.4 per cent year over year for homes sold on the MLS, and sales up 21 per cent compared with February 2014.

But what’s driving this rise in house prices? We all know that investment from overseas (mostly mainland Chinese) buyers is a major factor. But is that the only factor?

Read the full article here.
 

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Prince George BC's
Unemployment rate 4.4%


The city's unemployment rate stood at 4.4 per cent in February, according to Statistics Canada Labour Market survey numbers released Friday that indicate the low rate is partly a product of a declining workforce in the city.

The number of people of working age in Prince George stood at 49,700, compared to 53,800 in February 2013. The unemployment rate at that time was 6.1 per cent, but 50,600 were employed compared to 47,500 last month.

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Greater Vancouver home sale prices climb slightly as sales grow: CREA



Residential home sales across Greater Vancouver were up in February, both in terms of volume and dollar amount, according to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data released March 13.

There were 3,365 home sales in the region in February, which represents an increase of 7% compared with last month. Dollar volume was also up as the total sales grew 10% to $2.85 billion from $2.6 billion in January

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Consider the positive
ripple effect of New Westminster's Brewery District development


More than 150 years ago, a group of British military engineers called Sappers set up camp where the Fraser River splits north and south to survey land that would briefly become the capital of British Columbia.

While New Westminster quickly lost the reins of government to Victoria, by 1862 the Sappers’ landing point had become the Lower Mainland home to two critical city-building institutions: a hospital and a brewery.

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Tech to Timber fuels BC's Canada-beating rise

“There was a technology presence, but I felt quite isolated,” said the 49-year-old chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Absolute Software Corp. “Now I really feel like we’re at the center of something that’s very exciting.”

Many in British Columbia have a similar level of enthusiasm about the C$239 billion ($191 billion) economy.

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BC lumberjacks to look to Yuan Hub to boost business

Bloomberg) -- British Columbia’s tree-fellers are among those who stand to benefit the most as Canada sets up a yuan offshore trading center that will start transactions this month, according to the province’s finance minister.

West Fraser Timber Co. and Canfor Pulp Products Inc., both based in Vancouver, may be able to save as much as 5 percent on deals with China once the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. begins direct yuan-trading operations in Canada on March 23, Finance Minister Michael de Jong said in an interview.

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BC construction industry poised for significant energy development



"Big engineering projects are starting, and commercial and residential building is gaining momentum," said Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. "These industry dynamics will create a lot of new construction jobs and the need for steady recruiting, hiring and training."

BuildForce Canada's 2015-2024 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward forecast shows most construction markets gaining strength each year through the forecast period. New resource projects set the stage, with employment levels rising by up to 70 per cent by 2018. Growth is sustained beyond that by ongoing activity in industrial, commercial and institutional building. This will create short-term hiring peaks for select tradespeople in 2018. Job growth across most trades and occupations is expected to reach new historical highs by 2024.

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Abbotsford-Mission unemployment rate nears 5-year low

The Abbotsford area’s unemployment rate dipped below the six per cent mark for the first time in nearly five years in February, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent labour force survey.

The survey, which was released Friday, showed Abbotsford-Mission’s unemployment rate had decreased to 5.9 per cent. That’s a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from last February and continued a downward trend that began in September. It’s also the first time the rate has been below six per cent since March of 2010.

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BC construction industry poised for significant energy development

"Big engineering projects are starting, and commercial and residential building is gaining momentum," said Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. "These industry dynamics will create a lot of new construction jobs and the need for steady recruiting, hiring and training."

BuildForce Canada's 2015-2024 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward forecast shows most construction markets gaining strength each year through the forecast period. New resource projects set the stage, with employment levels rising by up to 70 per cent by 2018. Growth is sustained beyond that by ongoing activity in industrial, commercial and institutional building. This will create short-term hiring peaks for select tradespeople in 2018. Job growth across most trades and occupations is expected to reach new historical highs by 2024.

Read the full article here.
 

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Metro transit referendum could have Abbotsford implications

s Metro Vancouver voters prepare to vote on a plebiscite that would see a 0.5 per cent regional sales tax pay for billions of dollars worth of transit improvements, the referendum also has implications for the rest of the Valley that go beyond even TransLink’s ambitious plans.

Among a rash of improvements, including 400 more buses across the region, TransLink’s intentions would see a light rail (LRT) line connect Langley City with the SkyTrain system. The sales tax, meanwhile, wouldn’t apply east of Langley.

Read the full article here.
 

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Jobs rate looking up in northwest portion of BC

MORE people were working in the northwest in February than in February last year, indicates jobs information released by Statistics Canada.

The 43,300 listed as working either full or part time in February resulted in an unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent, better than the 8.1 per cent for Feburary 2014 when the number of people working was 37,500.

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Here's where Vancouver's hipsters live

This map highlights the changing settlement patterns of 25 to 39 year olds in the City of Vancouver. They have been labeled as “hipsters” by Bing Thom Architects (more so for the sake of simplicity and not real hipsters seen frequenting the latest cafe or brewery with their Macbooks in hand). These settlement decisions reflect the residential choices and tastes of a particular population, but also the forces of housing affordability, economy and community in the City and Region of Vancouver.

One quick glance and you’ll see that the “hipsters” are fleeing the west side and heading towards dense areas of downtown, East Van and surrounding areas. The creative population loves to assemble in clusters. The greatest cluster can be seen in Mount Pleasant and Gastown.

Read the full article here.
 
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