TED returns to Vancouver, with a twist

A view from below the main stage at last year’s event

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Plus, three First Nations eye a big piece of land on Vancouver’s west side and British Columbians are cooling on real estate

Technology, education, design out
TED is back. The annual ideas fest has landed in Vancouver for its third year, with this year’s five-day conference headlined by Al Gore, show runner Shonda Rhimes and singer songwriter John Legend, among others. Event organizers expect 1,400 attendees who paid at least $8,000 for tickets.

What is not back, however, is TED’s side conference in Whistler, a $4,400-per-person affair held in past years at which attendees could watch a live stream of the event in Vancouver and mingle with other, sort of, attendees. But like years past, venues around the Lower Mainland will hold live screenings of TED’s in-house talks for free. You can see the full list here. TED will also be screening its talks live to around 1,000 theatres across the U.S.A.

Just how did this annual confab land in Vancouver? Read our story from the archives on how TED “curator” and founder Chris Anderson picked Vancouver over venues in California. You can also check out our piece with the history of TED—what it is and where it came from, and most importantly, why it is so in vogue, here.

Share the land
Three Vancouver area First Nations have signed a letter to the provincial government asking to buy one of the last parcels of land on Vancouver’s west side open for redevelopment. The Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh intend to buy a 39-acre parcel of land in Point Grey, according to the provincial government. The three groups collectively own a 52-acre parcel of land next door, a former Department of Defence site, which they acquired from the federal government last year. The parcel is currently assessed at $180 million.

As for the future of the site, in a statement B.C. Finance Minister Mike De Jong said that “if a sales agreement is concluded, it will allow for a meaningful community consultation process between the First Nations and the City of Vancouver on what the community would like to see with respect to future development of the lands.”

Cash is king
British Columbians, perhaps surprisingly, do not view housing to be as good as an investment as they once did, according to a survey conducted for the insurer Manulife. The number of respondents who rated a house as an attractive investment dropped 13 per cent—the largest of all provinces—between this most recent survey and the one conducted the year before. So what do we like? Cash, it turns out, is increasing in popularity: the number of respondents who prefer cash as an investment increased 10 per cent in the most recent survey.