Metro Vancouver’s high cost of living and fractured regional governance is doing it no favours when it comes to attracting corporate offices, according to a report from the Business Council of B.C. (BCBC).
The study found Vancouver’s reputation for not being a city for global business, coupled with a “cumbersome” immigration system, is keeping corporations from establishing offices on the West Coast.
The BCBC examined Statistics Canada data tracking the number of head offices throughout the country.
In 2013, Metro Vancouver was home to 242 head offices, Calgary had 216, Montreal had 392 and Toronto had 702.
Employment at head offices in B.C. amounted to 17,000 direct jobs in 2013, or 7% of the national figure compared with 12% of the province’s share of the national population.
The report found B.C. “punches well below its weight” with just seven head offices per 100,000 people compared with Ontario’s 8.4 head offices per 100,000 people and Alberta’s 10.3.
“These findings affirm that British Columbia is predominantly a province of small businesses,” the report said.
But the BCBC pointed to two initiatives — Vancouver International Maritime Centre (VIMC) and HQ Vancouver — that are helping to reversing the tide.
VIMC promotes the region as a global shipping hub to international shipping interests.
HQ Vancouver, which is funded by the BCBC, and the federal and provincial governments, was launched a year ago with a mandate to attract regional headquarters from Asia to B.C.
The goal of the three-year program was to make two head office announcements by late 2017. During its first year, three companies agreed to establish offices in Vancouver.
HQ Vancouver CEO Yuen Pau Woo told Business in Vancouver last month the program has identified another 20-25 potential “tier one” accounts that will be pursued over the remaining two years of the program.
But the BCBC report pointed out it’s quite rare for mid-sized and larger companies to relocate their core operations.
“We have no real power to determine if a company will in fact push the button and make the decision to set up a head office,” Yuen said in January.
The BCBC report pointed to the region’s fragmented governance — including the province-created TransLink agency — as one of the reasons why a single voice like HQ Vancouver is needed to promote Metro Vancouver.
Meanwhile, Premier Christy Clark announced in January B.C.’s technology strategy would include the streamlining of the provincial nominee program to make immigration swifter for skilled workers entering the province.
The program was one of the few initiatives the BCBC praised in its report.
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