Economic plan

In just the last 2 years, B.C. attracted over $117 billion in capital investment, which will create tens of thousands more jobs as projects come online. Since 2017, the level of capital investment in B.C. has increased 96.1%, well ahead of Canada (47.5%). We’ve got $94 billion in major energy and resource economic development projects underway right now, with another $24 billion already in the pipeline, including new sustainable energy and international trade projects that will secure our future.

In 2024, we launched an industrial blueprint to drive investment and create jobs, cut taxes for more small businesses by doubling the Employer Health Tax exemption and started an unprecedented expansion of B.C.’s clean electricity system.

InBC, a strategic investment fund created by the Province to spur investment and growth within B.C., has invested over $81 million in early-stage companies and venture capital funds. The companies in InBC’s portfolio have raised over $400 million in total investment, supporting over 900 high-paying roles in growth sectors such as biotechnology, cleantech and robotics/AI.

Vitalus Nutrition’s expansion of its facility in Abbotsford will support milk producers in the region by increasing B.C.’s milk processing capacity 50%, and it will create as much as 100 additional jobs on site.

We’re committed to connecting every household to high-speed internet services by 2027, to ensure people in every community have better access to jobs, education, training and health care. So far, 208 projects have connected nearly 100,000 households in rural, remote and Indigenous communities since 2017.

BC Hydro rebates will make it easier for people and businesses to generate their own electricity, reduce their energy bills and deliver clean energy back to the electricity grid.

A nearly $200-million partnership between Aspect Biosystems and the governments of B.C. and Canada will create more than 200 jobs and advance the development of cutting-edge bioprinted tissue therapeutics for people in B.C. and around the globe.

The B.C. On-Farm Technology Adoption Program provides funding of as much as $150,000 for farmers to purchase technology to enhance profitability, productivity and efficiency, and the first funded 54 projects throughout the province to purchase and install equipment, such as a soil-moisture and leaf-wetness sensor in a vineyard, automated composter for field crops and an automated water pump for a berry farm.

Creating opportunities for internet service providers to use the fibre-optic capacity to further develop the in-community networks that provide cellular and internet services.

Since 2019, the CleanBC Industry Fund had reduced nearly nine million tonnes of carbon emissions.

New funding for one of Canada’s most powerful supercomputers, and the largest research cloud in the country, is supporting cutting-edge research projects in health care, clean energy, neuroscience and climate modelling that will improve people’s lives.

Producing clean fuels like hydrogen right here in B.C. to replace fossil fuels helps to reduce harmful pollution while creating new jobs and opportunities in the clean economy. By supporting innovative projects like SFU’s Clean Hydrogen Hub, we can ensure that B.C. remains a world leader and attracts new investment in the growing clean economy.

HTEC’s $900 million H2 Gateway project to build and operate a provincial network of 18 hydrogen refueling stations, with hubs in Burnaby, Nanaimo, Prince George and North Vancouver, will create more than 280 full-time jobs throughout B.C.

The forest industry is committed to transitioning to high-value products to make the best use out of every tree harvested. Through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, we have incentivized over $550 million in private sector capital investments into made-in-B.C. wood manufacturing and forestry operations in local communities. These investments are protecting and creating over 3,000 jobs, with more to come.

We’re working with rural communities to create and protect sustainable, family-supporting jobs that are central to our industrial blueprint. Communities in northern B.C. will receive as much as $13.3 million in Rural Economic Development Infrastructure funding for 42 approved projects to help strengthen local economies. By supporting local leaders and businesses who’ve identified priority projects that ensure a stronger, cleaner economic future for B.C., together we’re delivering opportunities for northerners to thrive in the places they call home.

The $66 million Tolko Industries mill project will diversify production to add specialty, industrial and engineered wood products.

We are giving rural communities the tools they need to diversify and grow their economies to create more opportunities and jobs for people where they live. Communities in the southern Interior region will be receiving as much as $4 million from the Rural Economic Diversification Infrastructure Program for 15 approved projects to help strengthen local economies.

We’re helping manufacturing companies modernize, innovate, and grow by providing funding for capital projects in all regions in B.C., particularly in communities affected by economic impacts or downturns.

We’re proud that Mercer Mass Timber’s headquarters are located right here in B.C., and that their manufacturing footprint will be significantly expanded in the Okanagan. Through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF), the Government of B.C. will support the purchase of new advanced manufacturing equipment and completion of factory upgrades that will modernize the facilities, improve production efficiencies and scale manufacturing of a wider variety of mass-timber products. Supporting innovative manufacturing projects helps secure good, local jobs and reinforces B.C. as a global leader in the production and use of mass timber.

B.C. is home to incredible companies that are developing innovative technology and practical solutions that can make people’s lives better. Through B.C.’s Integrated Marketplace, the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada, through PacifiCan, are supporting an initiative to reimagine mobility at YVR. We’re helping A&K Robotics to continue developing the tools they need to continue to grow, while supporting people living with mobility challenges access the travelling services they need.

We’re investing in the homes, bridges, roads, ports, and high-speed internet that businesses need to grow and people need to thrive. We’ve made the largest new investment in homes in B.C.’s history. And we’re investing in solutions such as the $36-billion expansion of B.C.’s electricity system, creating upwards of 12,500 good jobs and ensuring businesses and communities have access to clean, affordable electricity to grow, and to attract more investment

A new vision that outlines investments to help build a brighter future for rural communities and the people who call them home.

The strategy will build the province’s intellectual property capacity by increasing the awareness, use and protection of intellectual property by startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. This will ultimately create the conditions that will contribute to a more sustainable and viable innovation ecosystem in B.C.

The new B.C. Maritime Industries Strategy will chart the course for a more competitive, modernized marine sector with reduced carbon emissions.

The new Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy will position B.C. as a worldwide life sciences hub nurturing new talent so local businesses can expand and grow, creating high-quality jobs and making it easier for British Columbians to access innovative treatments in clinical trials, while improving government’s ability to quickly respond to future pandemics and public health emergencies.

An action plan to meet the challenges of today, make sure people are ready to succeed, and grow our stronger economy into the future.

Supporting key sectors to adopt new technology and processes to address labour shortages and increase productivity to help with workforce challenges.

B.C. is providing $1.2 million to the B.C. Assembly of First Nations to launch the new Centre of Excellence in First Nations Economic Development, helping advance the role of First Nations in B.C.’s inclusive economy and to work toward true and lasting reconciliation.

Supporting B.C.’s goods movement sector to adapt to changing markets and meet CleanBC targets.