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B C B U S I N E S S . C A
A P R I L / M AY 2 0 2 5
we were producing world-class products.
We were at that level."
More accolades followed, and the public
—not just in B.C., but also in Alberta,
Ontario and Washington—developed a taste
for Sheringham Distillery's gin, whisky,
vodka, liqueurs and akvavit (a spirit tradi-
tionally produced in Scandinavia). By 2018,
the carriage house in Shirley couldn't han-
dle the demand, so the MacIsaacs moved
their stills to a larger site in nearby Sooke.
Almost immediately, though, Jason realized
they'd need still bigger premises. Over five
years in Sooke, the distillery's output shot
up from 20,000 to 100,000 litres per year.
So in 2023 Sheringham pulled up stakes
yet again, moving east to the Victoria
suburb of Langford. For the MacIsaacs,
the big attraction was having the space to
expand even further if they needed to.
"We have the ability to grow under this
roof," Jason says.
But Langford, one of B.C.'s fastest-grow-
ing municipalities and No. 2 on this year's
survey of B.C.'s Most Economically Resilient
Cities, had a lot of other things going for
it, too. While still close to Sheringham's
West Coast roots, "it's a great location for
shipping and receiving," Jason says. Being
more accessible helps Sheringham attract
more visitors to its tasting room. "For peo-
ple travelling up and down the Island on
Highway 1, it's quite simple for them to take
West Shore Parkway to come visit us."
HOW WE CALCULATE
THE RANKINGS
For a decade now—2025 is the 11th iter-
ation—BCBusiness has been striving to
capture the pulse of the province's most
vibrant local economies. Initially an exer-
cise in identifying promising job markets
for post-secondary graduates and working
people looking for a life change, our Best
Cities for Work survey evolved into the
more comprehensive Most Economically
Resilient Cities research project that you
see here.
This year, we took the 50 municipali-
ties in B.C. with at least 10,000 residents,
which enabled us to find like-for-like data
on everything from population growth to
RESIDENTIAL SALES
PER 10,000
POPULATION
(10)
HOUSING STARTS
PER 10,000
POPULATION
(10)
CHANGE IN JOBS
PER 10,000
POPULATION
(10)
AVERAGE ANNUAL
UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE (10)
ECONOMIC
DIVERSITY
(15)
167.7 15 5.1% 4.11% 857
112.4 210 5.1% 4.11% 885
85.6 32.6 5.1% 4.11% 806
107 165.7 6.4% 4.83% 805
109.1 28.9 6.4% 4.83% 783
80.6 54.2 5.1% 4.11% 869
150 107.4 2.6% 4.28% 842
98 39 5.1% 4.11% 883
129.7 154 2.6% 4.28% 760
99.7 67.5 2.6% 4.28% 847
157.5 36.8 2.6% 4.28% 880
102.9 56.3 5.1% 4.11% 877
108.6 27 2.6% 4.28% 833
121.3 9.4 2.6% 4.28% 903
118.5 99.1 -0.3% 5.79% 718
82.9 55.1 -0.3% 5.79% 789
106.9 48.3 2.6% 4.28% 840
125 72.7 1.2% 5.74% 799
125.3 24.1 3.4% 5.53% 866
85.7 41.3 6.2% 5.53% 760
110 13.8 2.6% 4.28% 899
118.1 31.4 3.4% 5.53% 883
98.2 76.8 -0.3% 5.79% 763
83.9 149.5 -0.3% 5.79% 749
101.8 19.1 3.4% 5.53% 817
BEST
CITIES
FOR WORK
THE
