October 2018
In this issue
It seems like just yesterday that the Vancouver condominium presale market attracted hordes of buyers. Condo prices were climbing rapidly, and the desirability and curb appeal of a brand-new unit looked too good to pass up. Desperate buyers would camp out the night before a new development’s presales opened. In some cases they would pay people to sit in line and...
Nine years ago, Jean-Paul Gravel went to a Vancouver dance party and fell in love. A friend had taken him to a milonga, a social event where aficionados dance Argentine tango. “What I saw was such an incredible connection between the dancers, and the play between leader and follower struck me,” Gravel explains, with quiet intensity. One person...
Originally from South Africa, Craig Daniell swapped life in New York City to work in animal welfare in Ontario and B.C. With his charity’s Offleashed fundraising gala fast approaching this month, the BC SPCA chief executive talks about being a risk taker and why he’s always hoping to do himself out of a job… “I often say that there’s more politics...
B.C. residents bought triple the electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year (2,564 versus 849, according to EV promoter FleetCarma). Not ready to commit? Richmond’s EV Rentals focuses on electric and hybrid cars in a variety of makes and models, including the long-range Tesla Model 3. B.C.’s Charging Solutions and Incentives Program received so many...
Vancouver is a city that enjoys basking in its own press. Each year, when the Economist or Mercer puts out its “best” or “most livable” list, Lotusland regularly cracks the top five. But every so often, a contrarian report puts Vancouver in a less flattering light. Such appeared to be the case when the 2017 Sustainable Cities Mobility Index, produced by Arcadis, was...
As October brings a slew of local and national celebrations for small business—including B.C.’s Small Business Week, running the 15th through the 19th—we look at the big impact of little enterprise on this province
More than 40 candidates are vying for a seat on Vancouver city council in what promises to be one of the more hotly contested municipal races in recent memory. Among the dozens of hopefuls is 24-year-old SFU business grad Graham Cook. By day, Cook is a project manager at tech startup Mobify, which builds apps and web pages, mostly for...
Fall travel is full of perks. Crowds have thinned out since the hot days of summer, kids are back in school and colour-shifting foliage makes for breathtaking scenery. The weather is still mild and the harvest brings an abundance of beautiful food. Whether it’s golf, outdoor adventure, wine tours, or pure pampering, B.C. offers all kinds of weekend getaways for every...
In 2018, though, BCBusiness marks a milestone: the 25th anniversary of our partnership with Ernst & Young (EY). From cleantech to mining to tourism and hospitality, the latest EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program for the Pacific Region upholds a long tradition of excellence. The 35 women and men chosen by the judges—including winners in nine categories and the overall...
In the past 18 years, Mike Lalonde has been unemployed for exactly one night, when he was 25. It was January 2000, and Lalonde had what he calls “a little falling-out” with his previous employer, a landscaping company. He decided to go it alone the next morning, so he put a truck on his credit card, bought some tools, printed...