Tech + Science

Conquering the Summit: Your guide to the largest tech conference in Western Canada

The BCTech Summit floor is full of industry-shattering ideas and creative displays. Here's a guide so you don't get lost in all the innovation

By Nathan Caddell /

Credit: FWE BC on Twitter

The third annual BCTech Summit takes place from May 14 to 16. Use this to navigate the conference floor

Returning to the Vancouver Convention Centre this month, the BCTech Summit, delivered by the BC Innovation Council and Government of B.C., has tripled in size since it launched in 2016. That means more speakers, some 6,000 attendees and about quadruple the number of high-school students passing through to learn about the 1,200-plus technology companies and other organizations at booths and interactive displays throughout the concourse.

Besides giving ticket holders free access to Science World for two weeks, this year’s gathering includes a Funding Foyer where several provincial and federal funding programs, like the BC Innovation Council’s Ignite, the Build in Canada Innovation Program and Futurpreneur Canada, will be on the lookout for new ventures.  

To help attendees make the best use of their time, the three-day event is broken up into streams.

Here are a few worth considering.