Nearly half of British Columbians believe the business community will grow this year, according to a study released by the Bank of Montreal (BMO) Wednesday.
According to the study, B.C.’s growth rate is expected to outpace the national growth rate this year, topping 3% compared with 2.8% for the entire country. It found a “clear divide” in growth rates between Canada’s commodity producing provinces and non-commodity provinces.
Western Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador are expected to see growth rates between 3% and 4% this year, while Central and Atlantic Canada have growth rates between 2% and 3%.
In B.C., 49% of those polled expect local businesses to grow, while 38% expect them to stay the same, and 9% expect them to shrink.
Cathy Pin, vice-president commercial banking at BMO, said the survey, which sampled 1,504, showed that Canadians are “cautiously optimistic” about business growth.
“We encourage businesses to take advantage of the opportunity to make strategic spending and investment decisions – such as upgrading equipment, training and processes – in order to improve productivity and better position themselves for a future strengthening in consumer confidence,” said Pin.
Joel McKay
Twitter:jmckaybiv