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Research shows value of tourism sector on the Island
It’s National Tourism Week and Destination BC has released new tourism profiles for tourism across the province.
“In 2022, travellers in the Vancouver Island tourism region were hosted by 2,700 tourism businesses and 26,300 tourism employees,” the profile for Vancouver Island states. “Collectively, the tourism industry generated $3.2 billion of gross spending in the region, accounting for approximately 18% of BC’s total overnight spending.”
The report looks at government investment in tourism on the Island, as well as how the sector has evolved over 10 years. The top source of visitors in 2023 were other residents of BC, at 50%, followed by Alberta (14%), Ontario (8%) and Washington (4%).
A 2024 survey found 85% of Island residents said tourism supports local business, though about 40% said summers bring “too many” tourists. That sentiment drops to 7% in fall, 9.3% in spring and 4.3% in winter.
Greater Victoria real estate market ‘boring’ but stable
Home sales in Greater Victoria picked up in May, though the total is still slightly below the same month last year.
“Ample inventory coming to market outpaced brisk sales, which provided a consistent amount of choice and eased competition on high-demand properties,” Victoria Real Estate Board Board Chair Dirk VanderWal said in a media release. “More balanced market conditions were supported by stability both in prices and in interest rates. The May market was resilient, and that steady pace is a little boring to report on but has been much more comfortable for buyers and sellers to navigate than markets we’ve seen in past years.”
The benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core was $1,326,600 in May, down from April’s value of $1,345,200. The benchmark value for a condominium in the same area was $564,100 in May, down from the April value of $566,300.
Interest rate unchanged as Bank cites uncertainty
The Bank of Canada announced this morning it would stand pat on its target for the overnight rate at 2.75%. The pause was not a surprise for economists as recent GDP numbers show Canada’s economy is stronger than many expected.
“The trade conflict initiated by the United States remains the biggest headwind facing the Canadian economy,” Bank Governor Tiff Macklem said, noting that it’s too soon to see impacts of retaliatory tariffs on consumer prices. “We will continue to support economic growth while ensuring inflation remains well controlled.”
Canada’s inflation rate eased to 1.7% in April, spurred by the elimination of the consumer carbon tax. The Bank’s next rate announcement is July 30.
BC minimum wage increases to $17.85 next week
On Sunday, the province’s annual minimum wage increase will raise the lowest hourly rate from $17.40 to $17.85 per hour.
“The 2.6% increase on June 1 also applies to minimum-wage rates for resident caretakers, live-in home-support workers, live-in camp leaders and app-based delivery and ride-hail services workers,” the provincial media release stated. “This is the fourth year of the government’s ongoing commitment to tie annual minimum-wage increases to inflation.”
In February 2024, the Employment Standards Act was changed to automatically tie annual increases to the previous year’s average inflation rate.
Another Postal disruption simply bad for business
The Chamber is calling for a quick resolution to the simmering Canada Post labour dispute. Across the country, many businesses rely on dependable delivery service and, for some, the only option is currently Canada Post.
The Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab shows that supply chains are already facing challenges and any further disruption could make some businesses nonviable.
“Roughly 130,000 Canadian businesses were directly impacted by logistics-related labour disputes last year. Another stoppage — particularly during a fragile economic recovery — risks slowing deliveries, straining e-commerce and delaying critical services like payments and housing approvals,” the Canadian Chamber said. “Continuity matters. Business needs certainty, not another bottleneck.”
In Greater Victoria, we’ve seen first-hand how a postal strike can hurt small businesses and non-profit organizations.
“We know that many organizations still rely on Canada Post for cheques and fundraising. If they can’t rely on this service, they need to find alternatives and that could lead to higher costs or delays, and it certainly isn’t good for maintaining trust in Canada Post” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams told the Times Colonist, noting that “during the last postal strike, Chamber team members drove around the region to pick up and drop off payments and invoices for local businesses.”
On Wednesday, Canada Post gave its latest and “final” offer to the union representing 55,000 of its workers. You can find ongoing updates here:
Highway project will ease commute — eventually
Connecting communities is critical for helping business flow smoothly around the region. There are deliveries to make and appointments to keep, but good transportation is also vital to helping employers find and keep workers. This has been a consistent advocacy priority for Chamber members, who help us understand their biggest challenges by filling out our annual member survey as well as in daily interactions.
Of course, building better transportation corridors can require patience. That’s the case across the region, including Highway 1 where the bus-on-shoulder project is currently underway. New bus lanes from the McKenzie Interchange to the Colwood Interchange will make taking the bus faster and more reliable and convenient for commuters.
Drivers can expect daytime disruption during construction. The Burnside Road on-ramp and the Helmcken overpass will close overnight between 8 pm and 5:30 am. The Galloping Goose Trail also faces closures of as long as 15 minutes between 8 and 11 pm.
The Highway 1 bus-on-shoulder project is part of the South Island Transportation Strategy to create a dedicated rapid transit corridor between downtown Victoria and the Westshore. BC Transit currently operates its Blink RapidBus to connect the areas and is planning to expand the service over time.
The bus-on-shoulder project includes $67 million in provincial funding and $28 million in federal funds. The project is expected to be completed in late 2027.
Saanich seeks feedback on traffic calming measures
A survey that closes on Saturday will help the District of Saanich roll out its Traffic Calming Policy for municipal roadways. You can have your say on how Saanich addresses road dangers so drivers, pedestrians and cyclists feel safer travelling the district’s streets.
Traffic calming can include speed bumps, bike ways, traffic circles and other infrastructure designed to slow drivers. A survey for offering feedback is open until May 31. The findings will help Saanich refine its plan ahead of council approvals this summer.
Chamber advocacy efforts underway with feds
Tuesday’s historic Speech from the Throne read by King Charles III included some promising policy shifts to address Canada’s housing supply.
Acting as the current embodiment of Canada’s sovereignty, the King read a script prepared by the governing Liberal Party. The ritual was a not too subtle reminder to the US administration that Canadians are fed up with annexation rhetoric.
For business, the start of a new government session is a chance to see how campaign promises will be delivered. Housing is a major concern in Greater Victoria, and the Speech from the Throne included a promise to cut the GST for home valued at $1 million or less, saving buyers up to $50,000. The speech also promised to lower the GST on homes between $1 million and $1.5 million — a sweet spot for single family homes in the region.
“As a Chamber, we advocate for housing solutions to address fundamental challenges in Greater Victoria,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “We need housing supply to help attract people who contribute in all sectors of the economy, but specifically for folks who are required to staff our hospitality and retail industries. And we need homes for people struggling to stay housed. Simply put, housing is at the core of allowing employers to operate at their full potential and helping keep our communities safe for everyone.”
To encourage the new government to stay focused on business needs, the Canadian Chamber has sent the new cabinet “Mandate Letters.” Getting these to new ministers early in their terms is part of the strategic advocacy done to build good relationships that allow the business community to have its voice heard by government.
Inflation down but concerns lurk below surface
Inflation watchers haven’t had much excitement over the past several months (thankfully), but the April numbers have created a bit of intrigue. Statistics Canada reports the Consumer Price Index rose by 1.7% year over year last month. That’s well within the Bank of Canada’s target rate for maintaining interest rates. However, without the 12.7% discount created by the removal of the carbon tax on fuel, prices for many other goods jumped by an uncomfortable amount.
This makes the Bank of Canada’s June 4 interest rate announcement more complicated, said an economist with TD Bank.
“We had expected the inflationary impacts of tariffs to start flowing through later in the second quarter of the year – the jump in April suggests this could be happening sooner than expected,” TD Senior Economist Andrew Henci said. “With the government of Canada offering a temporary reprieve on some tariffs, and the labour market slowing rapidly, we believe the central bank will have enough space to deliver two more cuts this year – adding a bit more support to an economy quickly losing momentum.”