3
B C B U S I N E S S . C A
J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 C o v e r : R a n d all W a t s o n ; 9 : D u o t o n e ; 2 3 : B .C . L o t t e r y C o r p . ; 3 9 : M a t h i e u D u p ui s / E l d o r a d o G o l d C o r p . ; 4 8 : M a r k Yu e n ; 5 7: P o o y a N a b e i
CONTENTS
23
Bloodied but Unbowed
Who emerged as standout performers? Which heavyweights held strong? Who fell short
in the face of uncertainty? This is BCBusiness's Top 100 for 2025
BY MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH
39
Winners and Losers:
Striking Gold
Six of the top ten revenue gainers on our
Top 100 are gold mines. Here's who else
made the biggest strides on our ranking and
which ten dropped compared to last year
BY DARCY MATHESON
48
Hitting Pause
The modern workforce and work
environment have changed. So have
younger generations' approaches to
the 9-to-5, with more taking early micro
retirements
BY SARA HAROWITZ
C H A T T E R
6
EDITOR'S DESK
What micro retirement
means to this editor
T H E I N B O X
9
TECH + SCIENCE
Victoria-based Aluula is
innovating kitesurfing
materials, and possibly
the global shipping
industry
10
GO FIGURE
We dig into the numbers
behind LNG Canada
doing business in B.C.
12
CLIMATE
The changing climate is
devastating B.C.'s fruit
trees and farmers are
carrying the financial
burden
16
LAND VALUES
British Columbians with
real estate south of the
border are feeling the
trade war tensions
20
SMALL TOWN
SUCCESS
How a family in Comox
Valley's dairy farming
business is thriving
on the second-most
competitive shelf in
grocery stores: yogurt
Q U A L I T Y T I M E
57
WEEKEND WARRIOR
Smash + Tess CEO
and co-founder Ashley
Freeborn just earned
her orange belt. But
she didn't always enjoy
karate growing up
59
SOCIAL CUES
There's nothing to
be salty about with
Vancouver beauty brand
Saltyface's social media
presence
60
CARRY ON
Cold weather vacays
are on the rise, as well
as these other 2025
summer travel trends
62
INVENTORY
These B.C.-based
mocktail and zero-proof
brands are making a
splash
64
WORKING
ARGUMENTS
Throwing a bone to dog-
friendly offices
66
WORST DAY
ON THE JOB
The complicated
decision VCC's president
and CEO Ajay Patel had
to make when opening
the institution's kitchens
during COVID
V O L U M E 5 3 N U M B E R 5
23
39
48
F E A T U R E S
