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Recent surveys by Mercer and the EIU
(Economist Intelligence Unit) found that Vancouver was the 'best place in
the world to live'. It is not hard to see why
in summer, Vancouverites take advantage of the beautiful beaches that line
the city, or enjoy a stroll through Stanley Park, a cedar forest at the
edge of downtown. Winter offers skiing on the nearby slopes of Grouse,
Cypress and Seymour Mountains. Sailing, hiking, running, biking, blading
are all additional activities that can be enjoyed in and around the city.
A vibrant, lively, multi-cultural city with great shopping, restaurants,
cafes and entertainment. Its selection as the host for the 2010 Winter
Olympics has only enhanced Vancouver as a top destination for investment,
retirement, immigration and holiday homes. Economical Trend
The composition of BC's population has
changed a lot. It's no longer mainly comprised of young men, as it was a
hundred years ago. The percentage of males and females living in BC has
been roughly equal since the 1960s. The population is also older: less
than 40% of British Columbians are currently under the age of thirty, and
one in four are fifty-five or older. British Columbia's cultural mosaic is
also shifting. In recent years, immigration, especially from Asia, has
been a major source of population growth, and the Vancouver area, along
with other parts of the province, is becoming more diverse. As the face of the province's population
and its cities has changed, so too has the provincial economy. A variety
of new types of goods and services are being made available to meet the
needs of an increasingly multicultural population. Technological and
cultural changes have also had a big effect, as have changes in the way
companies do business. BC's economy has been maturing into a
more diverse, less resource-dependent structure. We're no longer “hewers
of wood and drawers of water” for the rest of the country or indeed, for
the world. Primary goods production is giving way to a greater emphasis on
value-added manufacturing as well as other types of goods and services
production. Forestry, mining, fishing and
agriculture are still important, especially in communities where they are
big employers, but they are no longer the dominant force in BC's economy.
Since the mid-1990s, there have been fewer people working in these
industries than in other types of goods production. At present, only nine percent of BC
workers have jobs in resource harvesting and extracting industries such as
agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining. That's down from about 13% in
1990. Employment in other types of goods production has picked up in
recent years after declining during the 1990s, and accounts for about 12%
of all the jobs in the province CMHC Report OTTAWA, September 9, 2008 —
The seasonally adjusted annual rate1
of housing starts was 211,000 units in August, up from 186,500 units
in July, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). “After a brief pause in July, the volatile
multiple segment bounced back to a level of activity that is more
consistent with our forecast for this year,” said Bob Dugan, Chief
Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. “Most of the volatility in
housing starts over the last three months reflected swings in multiple
starts in Ontario.” The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban
starts rose 15.2 per cent in August compared to July. Both urban
multiples and singles moved higher, with an increase of 25.2 per cent
for multiples to 114,700 units, and a 2.0 per cent increase for
singles to 71,200 units. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban
starts was down in every region except Ontario where housing starts
jumped 81.0 per cent to 86,500. Urban starts sagged 22.5 per cent to
23,700 units in the Prairies and dropped 11.5 in Atlantic Canada.
Smaller declines of 8.7 per cent and 8.2 per cent were recorded in
Quebec (37,600 units) and British Columbia (30,400 units)
respectively. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 25,100 units in August2. For the first eight months of 2008, actual
starts in rural and urban areas combined were down an estimated
4.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date
actual starts in urban areas have increased by an estimated
1.0 per cent over the same period in 2007. Actual urban single starts
for the January to August period of this year were 16.8 per cent lower
than they were a year earlier, while urban multiple starts were up by
17.6 per cent over the same period. 1 All starts figures in
this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual
rates (SAAR) — that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal
seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. 2 CMHC estimates the level
of rural starts for each of the three months of the quarter, at the
beginning of each quarter. During the last month of the quarter, CMHC
conducts the survey in rural areas and revises the estimate. As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC
draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a
variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable
homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy
communities and cities across the country.
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Things
have changed a lot since the early days of European settlement. With 13%
of the Canadian population, BC is Canada's third biggest province, after
Ontario and Quebec. It produces about 12% of the country's total GDP.
Vancouver's population has passed the two million mark, making it one of
only three metropolitan areas in the country with a population in excess
of one million (although Calgary and Edmonton are fast approaching that
mark). The city is an important financial and industrial centre, and with
its location on the west coast of the country, it's also a transportation
hub.