Vancouver might be upping the corporate workforce ante with growing representation from the likes of Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN), but Surrey is cultivating an increasingly robust small-business contingency across the Fraser River.
Since 2008, Surrey’s small-business sector has grown 4%, outpacing the provincial average of 0.2%.
Wayne Berg, chief commercial officer for Surrey-based Coast Capital Savings, said he’s seen the increase first-hand.
“There’s obviously population growth that’s spurred this. And there’s a service economy growing to meet that. And we grew by 3,000 net new members in business banking last year, not all in Surrey but a big number of them were here. So we’re experiencing some very good growth.”
While Vancouver’s tech boom is getting lots of attention, Berg said Surrey is expanding in other industries due in part to Surrey’s proximity to the U.S. border, a large immigrant population and cheaper rent for business owners starting out.
“We’re seeing businesses that are associated with transportation, construction, logistics and the service industry coming into the banks. So in the service industry that would include hospitality, restaurants and small stores, and along with the other ones were seeing a lot of growth in these specific areas.”
The City of Surrey released statistics this week that show an increase in small-business applications and licences for 2014. The high-water mark for B.C. small-business employment was in 2010, when 1,041,500 people were employed in the sector.
Coast Capital Savings has 36,000 small-business members, 8,500 of whom are east of the Port Mann Bridge, and looks to expand on that when it moves in late October into its new head office next to the King George SkyTrain station in city centre.
Elizabeth Model, chief executive officer of the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association, said the entrepreneurial spirit in Surrey is definitely expanding.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy, and it translates into our local economy. We need small businesses to grow as a community, to prosper and create the jobs for us to remain competitive.”
Berg added that Surrey’s growth is even more extraordinary given the financial pain B.C.’s neighbours to the east are experiencing.
“If you contrast that to what we’re seeing in Alberta right now with a lot of pressure from the drop in oil and gas, we’re seeing some very positive signs in the local economy while this is still going on. So that’s a great sign showing the resilience during what many think is tough economic times.”
