Photo courtesy Vancouver Regional Construction Association

With 120,000 employees and $9.8 billion in annual economic activity, the construction industry plays a significant role in Vancouver's Lower Mainland-Southwest region.

A spike in February's building permit values might be a positive sign for Vancouver's construction industry, following its steady decline in activity since last October. According to the Vancouver Regional Construction Association's (VRCA's) analysis of Statistic's Canada's April 6 report, total building permits in the Lower Mainland-Southwest region rebounded 135 per cent to $346.3 million in February from January. Non-residential permits increased 76 per cent to $137.3 million in the region over the same period.

Despite these promising numbers, continued volatility is expected as the global economy influences commercial investment, lending policies, and consumer demand. Nevertheless, VRCA president Keith Sashaw remains optimistic about construction in the province.

"British Columbia was one of the last areas of North America to enter this difficult economic period, and I firmly believe it will be one of the first to come out of it," he told Construction Canada Online. "Much work is being done around the Pacific Gateway, opening up opportunities with Asian markets. We still have more people employed in the construction industry today than we did in 2006."

A new VRCA report, A Tale of Two Decades, concludes pro-business and pro-market government policies will help the local construction industry—one of the largest employers in the Lower Mainland-Southwest region—recover from the economic crisis. The report suggests construction activity (and overall economic growth) improves when government policies:
• reduce red tape;
• offer a low-tax environment;
• provide infrastructure development (e.g. hospitals, schools, and transportation);
• encourage investment; and
• increase training opportunities.

A Tale of Two Decades is based on an assessment of 18 years of fiscal and construction activity in British Columbia, the policies in place during that time, and economic growth and investment.