Portrait: adam blasberg
By the time you read this, it will be Janu-
ary—and thanks to the nature of magazine
publishing, several weeks after I wrote this.
Much may have changed, although a lot of
things will not. So here's my best guess, in
late November, of what 2015 will bring.
Higher home prices overall, especially
in Vancouver and Victoria, and a continu-
ing debate over affordability in B.C.'s biggest
cities. Slightly lower unemployment rates,
though stubbornly high numbers for youth.
More details, trickling in, on
LNG final invest-
ment decisions. Some teeth-gnashing about
the Vancouver Canucks (win or lose) and
their impact on the local economy. And a
furious debate over transit funding, once the
Translink referendum kicks off in earnest.
Those are a few things to watch for.
Overall, according to a survey we
conducted with Insights West in
November ("To Lead or to Follow?",
p.35), British Columbians see the
year ahead as being one of relative
stability. We don't expect major
changes, for the most part (no career
changes, big renos and so on), and
we remain cautiously optimistic
about the state of household and
provincial finances.
Of course, the industry you work
in plays an important part in that
optimism equation. Take, for exam-
ple, the mining industry. As our fea-
ture report "Mining's Pivotal Year"
(p.65) makes clear, that industry is
going through a rebuilding phase after
several years of depressed commod-
ity prices. On top of that, the industry
anxiously awaits various reviews by
the provincial government following
the Mount Polley disaster, with the
fate of B.C. miners hanging in the balance.
And then, industry aside, some parts of
the province simply inspire more optimism
when it comes to work. At least, that's what
we discovered in our inaugural "Best Cities
for Work in B.C." package (p.41), which we
produced in partnership with Environics
Analytics. From income growth to education
levels to access to transit, we crunched the
numbers and ranked 36 B.C. cities on their
relative attractiveness for finding and keep-
ing a job. I might not be able to predict too
far into the future, but I'm pretty sure that
everyone who reads the package will find
something to love, and hate, in these results.
C O N T R I B U T O R S
Matt O'Grady, Editor-in-Chief
mogrady@canadawide.com / @bCbusiness
editor'sdesk
y
New BCBusiness associate
editor and Montreal transplant
Felicity Stone maintains that
she didn't plan on a writing
career, but "once I started work
as an editorial researcher, one
thing led to another." A former
managing editor of Western
Living magazine, Stone (who
conducted this month's Q&A,
on p.19) has also fact-checked
for Reader's Digest and written
for the Vancouver Sun.
NOVEMBER's MOst
pOpulaR stORiEs
ON BcBusiNEss.ca
How Bill Bennett
went from Liberal
pariah to the
premier's inner
sanctum
Big fat deal: your
own island, house
included, for $4
million
Alberta needs B.C.
to get its oil to Asia,
but does B.C. need
Alberta?
Big fat deal:
6,400 square
feet with a
2,800-bottle
wine cellar
Air France to launch
Paris-Vancouver route
in 2015
/people /real-estate /natural-resources /real-estate /manufacturing-
and-transport
12 BCBusiness January 2015
Illustrator Matthew billington
("Best Cities for Work in B.C., "
p.41) came to Vancouver via
Ontario a few years ago after
deciding, on a whim, to go
west. A fan of rainy weather
("it keeps me at my desk"), he
describes his style as "a collage
of text and image, vintage
and modern." Billington has
contributed to Canadian Family
and CA magazines.
Crystal Balling It
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Our annual report
on the brands
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like best.
