Inflation And Rising Costs Archives

Chamber is the unapologetic voice of business in our region

November 12, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Chamber News, Fair Rules, Finding And Keeping Workers, Government Federal, Government Local, Government Provincial, Inflation And Rising Costs, Safe Communities/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber recently issued a media release outlining our shift in advocacy priorities.

“We know our members have been hearing about these changes and we want to spread the word to the wider community, as well any businesses that might be unaware their voice is represented by The Chamber,” Chamber CEO John Wilson said. “We want businesses to know their calls for urgent action are being heard, and we have the ear of decision makers in all levels of government.”

The people who make up Greater Victoria’s business community care deeply about our region. They want a safe and sustainable life for everyone who lives here now, as well as for future generations.

As a member-based organization, The Chamber listens to its members and Board of Directors, who represent organizations of all sizes and industries, including the non-profit sector. They understand the current state of business in the region and have been clear about the direction needed.

“Our board has full confidence in John’s experience as a business leader and community-minded entrepreneur,” Chamber Board Chair Christina Clarke said.

How can we help your business? Please share your advocacy priorities with us at communications@victoriachamber.ca.

Read the Media Release

Fed Budget leaves investment in hands of business: analysis

November 6, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Global Uncertainty, Government Federal, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

After 18 months of waiting for a federal budget, Canadian businesses heard yesterday about the government’s big promises.

“Canada has an urgent need to get back to a growing, productive economy,” Canadian Chamber President and CEO Candace Laing said in a media release. “The government has heard business’s call to focus on the economy and has made some tough choices to attract investment. Individual businesses — small, medium and large — will be the ultimate judges of whether this is enough to start making investments in Canada again.”

The Chamber was pleased to see the government make needed reprioritizations and cuts, while investing in new defence spending.

Our armed forces have long been left empty-handed and finally meeting international commitments could go a long way to being seen as a reliable global partner.

“This budget makes critical investments in the equipment and technology our men and women in uniform need to defend Canada at home and abroad,” Executive Vice President and Chief of Public Policy Matthew Holmes said.

Budget 2025 takes a step toward balancing fiscal restraint with targeted investment. But the test ahead is execution and follow through — ensuring that policies translate into real-world competitiveness and growth.

“The world is competing for capital, and capital is mobile,” Laing said. “Canada has the talent, the resources and the potential to lead. Now, we need to prove that we can provide the certainty investors and businesses are looking for here at home.”

2025 Budget Expert Insights

Bank lowers interest rate as trade uncertainty lingers

October 29, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

The Bank of Canada reduced its target interest rate today by 0.25%, citing ongoing uncertainty with US trade negotiations.

“While the global economy has been resilient to the historic rise in US tariffs, the impact is becoming more evident,” the bank said in its statement. “Trade relationships are being reconfigured and ongoing trade tensions are dampening investment in many countries.”

To help Canada regain a positive position with the US, the Canadian Chamber has sent a trade mission, led by former Quebec Premier Jean Charest, to the US capital.

“Now is the time to stay very cool and to be focused on what it is that we want,” Charest told CTV. “The rest is a distraction, frankly, and we need to continue to be the adult in the room. Stay focused, stay close to each other, share information, and if we do that, we will increase our chances of coming out of this with a pretty good outcome.”

Chamber column: Focus on needs not wants in budgets

October 29, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Government Local, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

An excerpt is from The Chamber’s October column in the Business Examiner”

If the largest city in Western Canada can aim for a 0% property tax increase, surely those municipalities with a fraction of Vancouver’s budget can do the same. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim recently announced that he is directing staff to stop spending money that doesn’t need to be spent — a decisive response to an initial staff recommendation for a 7% increase.

It takes courage to stand up for what’s right, and Sim has been clear that “zero means zero.” This kind of leadership should be inspirational for mayors across the province. On behalf of Greater Victoria’s business community — and everyone concerned about ballooning government spending — The Chamber is calling on all 13 municipalities in our region to follow Vancouver’s lead.

As local governments across BC begin their budget processes this fall, they have an opportunity to demonstrate that they truly support local economic growth. That support starts with restraint.

Read the Full Column

Plan for prompt payment rules supports construction

October 8, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Business And Economic Strength, Fair Rules, Finding And Keeping Workers, Government Local, Government Provincial, Housing, Inflation And Rising Costs, Streamlined Regional Regulations, Training And Microcredentials/by Jim Zeeben

The Chamber applauds a new agreement that will let builders build, and spend less time chasing wayward payments.

On Tuesday, the province announced legislation that will help contractors, subcontractors and workers get paid on time.

“We welcome this critical step toward payment certainty for B.C.’s construction industry,” BC Construction Association president Chris Atchison said. “It marks a new starting line that requires sustained collaboration between industry and government. Establishing fairness in how money flows means the industry can focus on building, not battling over payment. BCCA remains committed to continuing to work with the provincial government on this important issue.”

With housing supply a critical component for improving the cost of living in Greater Victoria and across BC, governments need to address all barriers facing contractors.

The prompt-payment legislation, once passed, will:

· set clear timelines for payment on construction projects

· establish a fast-track adjudication process to resolve payment-related disputes

· improve cash flow and stability across the construction industry.

Ontario and Alberta already have prompt-payment laws, and industry groups in BC have supported bringing those rules here. The province said there will be a transition period to establish an adjudication authority and conduct outreach and education regarding rights and responsibilities under the new system.

Prompt-payment rules will apply broadly to both private- and public-sector projects in BC, including government contracts, unless specific exemptions are set out by regulation.

Chamber’s new advocacy focused on urgent action

October 8, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Chamber Awareness, Chamber News, Fair Rules, Finding And Keeping Workers, Government Federal, Government Local, Government Provincial, Inflation And Rising Costs, New And Established Businesses, Safe Communities, Streamlined Regional Regulations/by Jim Zeeben

You might have noticed some changes to how The Chamber is using our position as the unapologetic Voice of Business.

The series of messages, shown below, will start appearing more on Chamber social channels and in other media. The focus is on action. Businesses have had too many years of uncertainty caused by societal shifts and the growing burden of red tape. Our members and our Board of Directors have been clear that we need to speak up and call for change.

Our first focus is downtown Victoria and other central areas being devastated by a permissive attitude toward disorder and crime. People need to feel safe. That means all levels of government need to do their part — and do it with urgency.

We know what’s needed: consistent police and bylaw presence and enforcement, immediate options for people needing mental health and addiction care and changes to a legal system that currently allows repeat offenders to harm our communities.

Our other current priorities are more responsible spending by governments, and reduction in regulatory roadblocks that make building homes and providing services for families too expensive.

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.”

Borrowing costs drop as Bank of Canada cuts rate

September 17, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Global Uncertainty, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

As expected, the Bank of Canada lowered its policy interest rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 2.5%.

The news follows yesterday’s report from Statistics Canada showing inflation remains stable, coming in at 1.9% in August.

The Conference Board of Canada said a weakening economy makes the cuts appropriate, especially as we have so far avoided the rising costs that many feared would result from US tariff announcements.

“Up to now, inflationary concerns about the trade dispute with the US have largely been evaded,” the Conference Board said. “Looking ahead, we’re cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue, and that inflation will continue to moderate. On Sept. 1, the federal government removed retaliatory tariffs on $44 billion worth of goods which have been in place since March. The removal of these tariffs will take away some upward price pressure and has instilled further confidence in the Bank’s decision to cut its key policy rate today.”

Inflation holds steady despite ongoing tradewar risks

August 20, 2025/in BizNews This Week, Global Uncertainty, Inflation And Rising Costs/by Jim Zeeben

So far, so good.

The latest numbers from Statistics Canada show inflation remains well within target range, raising the possibility of a further interest rate cut next month.

“This is a positive inflation report on many fronts as price pressures ease for goods and services,” Canadian Chamber principal economist Andrew DiCapua said. “Sticky core measures in July may put progress at risk, but if this momentum continues, we could see the Bank of Canada move rates lower in September. Time will tell if tariffs are feeding through consumer prices, but there are some upward trends on food and durable goods products that could tilt the scales as the effects of tariffs are realized.”

The Consumer Price Index rose 1.7% on a year-over-year basis in July, down from a 1.9% increase in June.

“Prices for gasoline led the slowdown, falling 16.1% year over year in July, following a 13.4% decline in June,” Statistics Canada’s report said. “Excluding gasoline, inflation rose 2.5% in July, matching the increases in May and June. Moderating the deceleration in July were higher prices for groceries and a smaller year-over-year decline in natural gas prices compared with June.”