Business And Economic Strength Archives

Seair announces new seaplane service to Victoria

October 1, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Hospitality And Tourism Rescue And Recovery, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Seair Seaplanes is set to launch a new scheduled seaplane service to Victoria. Flights begin Oct. 20 connecting Downtown Vancouver to the Inner Harbour.

“The Chamber strongly supports business growth, and we applaud the investments in infrastructure being made to bring Seair service to the Inner Harbour,” said Christina Clarke, Chair of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. “There is so much opportunity for growth in the tourism sector, which sustains so many businesses in Greater Victoria. This new option benefits visitors to our destination as well as many people who can use this service for business travel.”

Flights will arrive and depart from Seair’s new terminal at 1234 Wharf Street. Seair will primarily use Cessna 208 Caravan turboprop seaplanes, known as dependable and comfortable nine-passenger aircraft.

Seair Seaplanes began in 1982 and is headquartered at YVR’s South Terminal. Seair also operates from Vancouver’s Convention Centre and the Nanaimo waterfront.

New SIPP report says Greater Victoria at a crossroads

September 24, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Fair Rules, Finding And Keeping Workers, Global Uncertainty, Housing/by Jim Zeeben

A report released this week offers a path forward for a regional economy that is spinning its wheels in some sectors.

The South Island Prosperity Partnership offers a series of recommendations to overcome stagnation and reach our potential in Igniting Momentum, a 105-page report that came out of its Rising Economy Taskforce.

“The stakes are too high for business as usual in Greater Victoria,” the report concludes. “The evidence is clear: affordability pressures, productivity gaps, essential-worker shortages and external shocks are converging. But so are our advantages: world-class research, a thriving tech ecosystem, ocean and climate leadership, strong public anchors, entrepreneurial grit and a quality of life that draws talent from around the world.”

The Chamber helped contribute to the report’s findings, which align with much of the work the Chamber continues to do to attract investment and support our community.

“Greater Victoria is at a crossroads. Without bold, immediate action, we risk losing the talent, businesses and vibrancy that sustain our economy. Governments at all levels must do more to coordinate with the private sector to help ensure businesses can succeed,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “As BC’s second-largest metropolitan area, we can’t wait any longer. The Chamber promises to work with our members and partners across the region as the voice of business to address social challenges, increase access to skilled workers and grow our regional economy in ways guided by innovation, inclusion, and resilience. The time to act is now — to build a safer, stronger, and more prosperous Greater Victoria for everyone.”

Consumer confidence teeters, raising CUSMA stakes

September 24, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

There’s a growing sense that Canada’s economy will dodge the recession that many feared when US tariffs were announced. Economists are now saying recovery is already underway with opportunities for accelerated growth in 2026.

Statistics Canada will release the latest GDP numbers on Friday.

Regardless, many businesses are still feeling fragile due to the uncertainty of future trade agreements and a tightening labour market. The Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab reports that, after five consecutive declines, overall business confidence steadied this quarter.

“Businesses are showing remarkable resilience in the face of policy uncertainty, tariff threats and a softening labour market,” Business Lab VP Patrick Gill said. “With CUSMA review approaching, the stakes for Canadian competitiveness are high.”

The lab found that challenges finding labour remain acute in construction, hospitality and agriculture. Meanwhile, sluggish consumer demand is the biggest barrier to growth according to business data, outpacing labour and financing challenges.

Provincial deficit looms as Premier seeks fed funding

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Government Provincial, Inflation And Rising Costs, New And Established Businesses, Safe Communities, Streamlined Regional Regulations/by Jim Zeeben

A day after admitting the provincial books are deeper in the red than initially forecast, BC’s Premier is in Ottawa seeking more cash from the federal government.

On Tuesday, BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey updated the budget forecast to show a deficit of $11.6 billion for 2025. That’s $665 million more than expected. The deficit is forecast to rise to $12.6 billion next year and $12.3 billion in 2027-28.

The Chamber is calling on all levels of government to focus on needs and set aside wants until our financial circumstances improve.

“I’m hearing from our business community that times are tight and they are doing everything they can to streamline and live within their means,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “They expect governments to do the same with the taxes they collect from all of us.”

The province has committed to cutting back its spending, noting it was able to find $300 million in savings this year.

Premier David Eby said he’s pushing for more major infrastructure projects in BC, as well as urgent action to address public safety.

The Chamber applauds these steps, while acknowledging that patience has worn thin among the business community facing a crisis from public disorder and the crushing burden of red tape and taxes.

“I’ll keep saying it as long as I need to. Enough is enough,” Wilson said. “We’ve heard enough announcements without seeing adequate results. That needs to change.”

IDEA committee hears how equity helps employers

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Fair Rules, Training And Microcredentials/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber’s IDEA committee met this week after taking a break over summer, and heard a great presentation from the team at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. Paulina Grainger, Billie Tess and Parker Johnson provided an overview of ICA’s Tools for Equity program. It was an enlightening and informative conversation about the benefits that organizations get from helping everyone have a chance to succeed.

The program offers tools to address systemic and institutional racism that exists in many workplaces. The work helps build better businesses and great community, while improving the competency of management and employees.

The ICA will work with any organization wanting to become more inclusive in order to stay relevant, competitive and an employer of choice.

Government decisions must consider downtown

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

Let’s be clear about an issue that’s sparking plenty of conversations.

Downtown Victoria is facing a crisis.

That’s not to deny the natural beauty or economic power of downtown, which remains a gem for our region. Anyone who visits our destination can see how special this area is among the world’s small cities.

But most can also see that warning bells are ringing ever louder, and, if immediate action is not taken, we could face an even more dire situation. Businesses downtown are fed up with crime, social disorder, increasing costs and labour shortages, Chamber CEO John Wilson told Global News.

Wilson was speaking about the cumulative impact of all levels of government not doing enough to invest in downtown. The ongoing BCGEU strike signals another pain point. The issue is not with public sector workers seeking to continue working from home, but with a government that has allowed its workforce to flee downtown without a real plan for the hundreds of businesses that have evolved to serve these workers.

“The public sector workforce in the downtown core is instrumental in supporting some of these small and mid-sized businesses. Some of them were put in place to support that workforce, whether it be coffee shops, lunch shops, things like that,” Wilson told Global News. “The downtown core needs these workers back in the office space, the private industry, the economy and the vibrancy of downtown Victoria is being greatly affected — I think it has a trickle-down effect on the safety and disorder in the downtown core, too, with the lack of busyness down here.”

With the federal government and most other provinces bringing workers back to offices, The Chamber is calling for BC to do the same — or provide a pragmatic plan for filling vacant or underutilized offices downtown. The province must do better than adding another burden to the private sector without considering the consequence.

Timely data to make sense of business environment

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness/by Jim Zeeben

In an age of economic uncertainty, having access to real-time data can help businesses make sense of shifting conditions. That’s how a new tool from the Canadian Chamber can provide insight between gaps in official reporting.

BDLNow adjusts its estimate based on recently released high-frequency economic indicators. The tool generates an estimate of Canada’s GDP growth rate for the present quarter as well as for the previous quarter, months ahead of Statistics Canada’s official data release.

Unlike a forecast, the nowcast is purely model-driven, which makes it dynamic and versatile and provides leading accuracy as new economic data becomes available.

Check out BDLNow

FortisBC President and CEO shares insights with business

September 10, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Global Uncertainty/by Jim Zeeben

The head of one of BC’s largest regulated utilities offered some sage advice to more than 90 business and community leaders yesterday at the Hotel Grand Pacific.

Speaking at The Chamber’s Business Leaders Series event, FortisBC President and CEO Roger Dall’Antonia said it’s important to depoliticize decisions that could affect a business for years or even decades.

“The thing that is unique for the business community right now is we’re dealing with geopolitical issues that have far-reaching implications,” Dall’Antonia said, noting that projects that create real benefits for customers will be acceptable to whatever political party holds office.

This is especially critical for massive infrastructure investments that need to be planned and built over multiple election cycles.

By focusing on understanding the direct and indirect impacts of government polices, businesses can make their case objectively.

The event featured a direct dialogue between engaged audience members and Dall’Antonia, a dynamic and entertaining speaker.

“I’d like to thank FortisBC and our event sponsor Coldstar Solutions for making this event possible,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “I also encourage all Chamber members to reserve their seat now for our next BLS event. These are great opportunities you don’t want to miss.”

Curious how LNG could impact Greater Victoria?

August 20, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Climate Change Solutions, Global Uncertainty, Housing, Indigenous Business Support And Reconciliation, Inflation And Rising Costs, New And Established Businesses, Streamlined Regional Regulations, Transportation Options/by Jim Zeeben

Natural gas has a long history as a game-changing source of energy. From the old slogan, “Now you’re cooking with gas” to recent proposals aimed at boosting BC’s economy and helping wean the world off coal, LNG has made plenty of headlines.

Chamber members have a chance to dig deeper into those stories and others when we host FortisBC President and CEO Roger Dall’Antonia. The event, sponsored by ColdStar Solutions, runs Sept. 9, from 11:30am to 1 pm, at the Hotel Grand Pacific.

Dall’Antonia will speak about the latest efforts to grow the industry, the impact investing in natural gas will have on provincial revenue and the opportunities available in Greater Victoria.

If you have questions about FortisBC and our province’s energy sector, please send them to communications@victoriachamber.ca. We’ll select those that help inform conversations about our region and get the answers at the event directly from one of the province’s foremost experts.

Reserve your seat now for the Chamber’s next Business Leaders Luncheon, and make the most of this chance to connect with top movers and shakers in our business community.

Reserve Your Seat

Boardroom meeting with fed Minister open to members

August 20, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Chamber Awareness, Government Federal, Hospitality And Tourism Rescue And Recovery, New And Established Businesses/by Jim Zeeben

Being a Chamber member means being part of the unapologetic Voice of Business for our region. That means opportunities to speak directly to top decision-makers, such as the Hon. Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism), who will be visiting The Chamber’s boardroom next week.

The event is open to members, providing a chance to hear directly about the federal government’s plans to support tourism and small business, as well as ongoing work to advance diversity, equality and inclusion in Canada.

The event will begin with small-group networking, followed by remarks from Minister Valdez.

A moderated Q&A will follow, focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing tourism and business in our region, and how we can work together to build an inclusive, welcoming community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Space is limited, so register early to secure your spot.