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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1490198
10 BCBUSINESS.CA JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 In This Economy? O ne of the perks of being a magazine edi- tor is that you get to live in the future. While others are celebrating Thanksgiv- ing, you're putting together gift guides for the holidays. That's a fun time to look forward to. But when everyone else is enjoying that Christ- mas cheer and the arrival of Saint Nick (or of the non-denominational holiday figure of your choosing), we here at BCBusiness have our eyes set on that most unforgiving of months, January. Not to burst anyone's bubble, but putting together this first issue of the year made that Christmas dissonance especially tough. Our annual Economic Outlook (pg.44) paints a pic- ture that might have you regretting any extra double rum and eggnogs you treated yourself to. While the experts we consulted may not have been overly full of doom and gloom, they do expect B.C.'s economy to take a hit in the year to come. That will be offset somewhat by low unemployment rates and high levels of immi- gration, but, as the Business Council of British Columbia's Ken Peacock says, on an individual level, "it will feel recession-like." For anyone who feels bold enough to actually throw some capital around right now, we've added a list of B.C. stocks that Michael McCullough (the writer of our online Pacific Trader column) is most intrigued by. Of course, personal economic conditions will also change depend- ing on where you live. Our Best Cities for Work feature was slightly altered during the pandemic, and so we're now in our third edition of "B.C.'s Most Economically Resilient Cities in 2023" (pg.30). Put together once again by Andrew Macaulay with sup- port from data and marketing firm Environics Analytics, the ranking and accompanying feature details the communities best positioned for success right now. While we're hoping we can drop that "resilient" label next year, it's nice to see one of the list's former heavyweights—the community of Squamish— find its way back to the top of the mountain after a couple of years spent feeling the crunch of the pandemic. You'll also find success stories from Summerland and Parksville—two great examples of how small B.C. communities are managing to find economic stability. One of the main life rafts in a recession is innovation, and as the CEO of the BC Tech Asso- ciation, Jill Tipping, notes in our Economic Outlook, B.C. seems to be in good shape in that area. One of the best indicators I've personally seen of this occurred in late fall of last year, when I attended UBC's Creative Destruction Lab ("If You Break It," pg.15). While it was dif- ficult wrapping my mind around some of the complex theories at play on the floor of the Van- couver Convention Centre, I left that day feel- ing confident that we're in good hands. Even if I can't actually see the future. Nathan Caddell, Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com / @BCBusiness ( editor's desk ) I N M A R C H /A P R I L The people you've (probably) never heard of behind some of the province's biggest organizations C ON T R I B U T OR S New Westminster-based city planner and geographer Andrew Macaulay judges our province's communities in "B.C.'s Most Economically Resilient Cities in 2023" (p.30). In his fifth time compiling the list for our annual ranking of the province's best cities, he was struck by B.C.'s smaller communities: "They have so many interesting economic development projects and creative entrepreneurs that I could have easily written three separate full-length pieces on each of them." Growing up in North Vancouver, Tanya Goehring took up photography back in high school. She was particularly excited to shoot our Weekend Warrior for "Into the Woods" (p.55): "My father was a hunter his whole life, so I'm quite familiar with the sport," she says. Recently, Vancouver-based Goehring received a Canada Council for the Arts grant to produce a four-channel immersive film installation with her partner. PORTRAIT: ALAINA MICHELLE