Brenda Bouw

British Columbians may not believe it by looking at their bank accounts, but we have the highest average net worth in the country, according to newly released Statistics Canada data. The net worth of the average family unit in B.C.—the sum of all assets minus debts—was $691,300 in 2012, according to...

Business groups along the B.C. coast are pitching a new public-private partnership solution for the B.C. Ferry Service Inc., which they believe can solve some of the cash-strapped system’s problems. The Powell River Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of a growing number of chambers of commerce groups along the coast, launched...

UrtheCast Corp. says it’s back in business on the International Space Station after the delayed installation of its two Earth imaging cameras over the holidays, which sent its newly listed stock into a temporary tailspin. The Vancouver-based company said Tuesday that the issue preventing the cameras from being set up on...

It might be hard to believe as you go shopping for gifts, fill the car with gas and eat out this holiday season, but consumer prices are falling in B.C. The latest Statistics Canada data show prices of goods and services captured by the benchmark Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell...

Good news for homeowners hoping their property value will go up (and bad news for buyers looking for a deal): a new forecast is calling for moderately higher sales and prices across B.C. for the next three years. Central 1 Credit Union has increased its provincial pricing outlook, citing stronger population...

The Conference Board of Canada predicts B.C.s gross domestic product (GDP) will increase 2.7 per cent next year, faster than the national forecast of 2.3 per cent, driven primarily by growth in the dominant resources sector. An increase in forestry, mining and natural gas activity will also propel economic growth in...

With protests over carbon fuels in general and shipping-terminal expansions in the Lower Mainland in particular, coal is a controversial commodity. But it’s hard to deny the economic impact it has on B.C.’s economic fortune. Not only is B.C. Canada’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal, but the steelmaking ingredient also remains...

It’s the day before graduation and Quest University Canada president David Helfand is standing beside a freshly dug hole on the grounds of the Squamish campus, dressed in a well-worn blue-striped suit, his white beard flipping in the wind. Beside him is a flowering cherry tree ready for planting along...

First West Credit Union, B.C.’s third-largest credit union as measured by assets under administration, and Island Savings, the ninth-largest, say they are in “exploratory discussions.” Island Savings, with 16 branches across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, would become part of First West, which has 40 branches across B.C.’s mainland under...

There’s something about mining and motion pictures that appear to go hand-in-hand in B.C. Robert Friedland, the mining financier behind a handful of Vancouver-based resource companies over the years, is launching a movie and TV financing company, Ivanhoe Pictures, with a focus on both North America and Asia. Friedland is the second...

A Fraser Institute report claiming B.C. would see an economic boost if its workers were allowed to opt out of unions is being labelled as shortsighted by the province’s leading labour organization. B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair says the report, which applies the results of so-called U.S.-style “right-to-work” laws to...

Here’s the good news for people working in B.C.: many of us can expect to get a raise next year. Now the bad news: It may not be as much as you received this year, and it’s less than what your friends will get in most other parts of the country...