BCBusiness

January/February 2022 – The Most Resilient Cities

With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.

Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1441359

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 37 of 71

38 BCBUSINESS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 2021 RANK 2020 RANK COMMUNITY FIVE-YEAR POPULATION GROWTH (10% WEIGHT) HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL VULNERABILITY (15%) RESIDENT SENSE OF BELONGING (5%) RESIDENTIAL GHG EMISSIONS PER 10,000 POPULATION (5%) 35 27 MAPLE RIDGE 6.4% 118 98 11,254 36 16 ABBOTSFORD 8.2% 113 95 8,875 37 26 MISSION 13.7% 122 95 11,910 38 30 CAMPBELL RIVER 8.4% 122 94 9,219 39 42 PORT COQUITLAM 8.3% 121 97 8,737 40 41 CRANBROOK 2.6% 116 92 15,988 41 34 POWELL RIVER 2.7% 114 91 10,772 42 17 NELSON 5.1% 96 85 13,876 43 29 PRINCE GEORGE 5.9% 117 92 16,756 44 44 TERRACE 1.7% 112 91 12,009 45 40 WILLIAMS LAKE 1.9% 114 86 17,423 46 47 PORT ALBERNI 3.7% 136 88 13,022 47 49 PRINCE RUPERT 2.6% 119 86 8,207 48 28 FORT ST. JOHN 3.0% 112 89 18,802 49 50 QUESNEL 2.1% 131 86 20,389 50 48 DAWSON CREEK 1.2% 113 97 22,262 BEST CITIES FOR WORK IN B.C. in 2016, Patterson jumped at the chance despite having never seriously considered the area before. "That was it—commercial building opportunity, we bought, and we've just been loving it." About a year later, Patterson and his wife, Shannon, had also moved their home from Vancouver to New Westminster. Jessica Schneider, executive director of New Westminster's Massey Theatre, made a similar move from Vancouver to New Westminster in 2006. She thinks the shift east has only gained traction since then, especially among those in cre- ative industries. "A lot of creatives from downtown Vancouver are moving out here because it's more affordable but still very convenient for them to work in the region, whether it's film or television or live arts." The city has had its own share of affordability challenges, notes Nikki Morris, executive director of the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce. But given its distinctive urban vibe and the bonus of a central location and easy SkyTrain access, she believes people are starting to rediscover it as a viable alternative to Vancouver. "[We] definitely have felt that push from, maybe, those people that wanted to live in down- town Vancouver and are now happier to live in downtown New West and be able to transport into work via SkyTrain two or three times a week, but get to live in a smaller, tight-knit community." Despite New Westminster's recent suc- cess at attracting new residents and busi- nesses, navigating the pandemic hasn't been easy. "It was really tough, obviously, that one quarter in 2020 where it was all but shut down," recalls Pat- terson, who's now looking for a new operations manager after the previous one moved out of town with her family to pursue more-affordable housing. "It's just been a whole perfect storm of the COVID slowdown, supply chain issues, difficulty in hiring—I mean, it just goes on and on." Ris- ing insurance and leasing costs have added to Patterson's list of troubles plaguing the city's small-business community. Similar labour shortages have affected the arts community, Schneider says. "The biggest challenge has been that we haven't been able to have live gatherings." Many people who once helped produce live theatre performances, such as those with roles in lighting, sound and set design, have decided to leave the field, Schneider

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of BCBusiness - January/February 2022 – The Most Resilient Cities