History and Milestones

2023-24

2023-2024 was one of the most successful years at GVBOT in recent memory. We increased our influence and impact, providing a strong voice for the business community in the region. We launched the inaugural Benchmarking Greater Vancouver report, which positioned our region within a 20-region peer group to evaluate how we measure up. Alongside this, an economic impact study on the industrial land shortage afflicting the region highlighted the jobs, wages, and GDP that are leaving B.C. for other cities. These two reports have formed the backbone of our policy team’s stakeholder work.

Throughout the year, the team conducted over 500 government and stakeholder meetings, engaging with MLAs, provincial government ministers and staff, international representatives, industry associations, MPs, young professionals, and other key groups.

Our ability to work across party lines and with all levels of government ensured that the concerns of the business community were heard. As a result, the 2024 provincial budget adjusted the threshold of the Employer Health Tax, lessening the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In 2024, we completed the organization’s first three-year strategic plan, which culminated in a digital transformation that delivered a revamped website on time and under budget. We have now launched a new three-year strategic plan, which focuses on Propelling Prosperity, Cultivating Community, and Igniting Innovation across the Greater Vancouver region.

Our events and programs calendar were as busy as ever, with over 15,000 attendees. This year marked a significant milestone for the Trade Accelerator Program (TAP), which has now graduated over 500 companies since its inception, delivering tangible economic benefits to our province. Our Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) program also welcomed its largest cohort in recent years. Bringing emerging leaders into the fold early in their careers is vital for the future of both GVBOT and the broader community.

A highlight of the year was our annual Governor’s Gala and Rix Awards in April, where we came together as a community to celebrate. We honored Ratana Stephens, O.B.C., and Arran Stephens, O.B.C., the founders of Nature’s Path, with the prestigious Rix Award for Community Citizenship in recognition of their decades of philanthropy and community service. Additionally, Odlum Brown received the Rix Award for Corporate Citizenship for their outstanding leadership across a diverse range of sectors, including healthcare, the arts, sports, and education.

While the past 12 months have been fantastic for the team at 999 Canada Place, we won’t rest on our laurels. With stagnating economic growth, flatlining private sector job growth, and a record-breaking provincial deficit, our responsibility to drive change has never been more important. We will continue to advocate for policies that enhance competitiveness, productivity, investment, and business growth in our region so that Greater Vancouver is the best place to live and work for people and businesses alike.

2022-23

2022-23 was an invigorating year as we resumed normal business operations, and the results were overwhelmingly positive. The Board of Trade increased influence and impact, enhanced member value and built capacity in local business – as outlined in our 3 Year Strategic Plan.

Our policy department released several reports addressing the challenges of B.C. businesses. These included 2023 Counting the Costs: Assessing Economic Challenges for Businesses in British Columbia, 2023 Solving B.C.’s Workforce Challenges Report, and A Path Forward for the Gig Economy in British Columbia. Throughout the strike in Canada's west coast ports, during which our port shutdown calculator estimated trade losses of $10.7 billion, GVBOT actively voiced its concerns about the national economy and supply chain.

With a busy events calendar, it was exciting to provide an opportunity for members to connect in person. The year kicked off with the inaugural annual address by the new Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. Our annual Governors’ Gala and Rix Awards in April was an opportunity to induct Kirsten Sutton, ICD.D into the Council of Governors. Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia and Sergio Cocchia were honoured with the Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship for their significant philanthropic and fundraising efforts and White Spot was awarded the Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship in recognition of the company's depth and length of community relationships. The Scale-up Centre for SMEs launched its first Business Distinction Awards recognizing SMEs that have gone above and beyond in the Greater Vancouver region.

2021-22

The emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the catastrophic climate events in B.C. had a significant impact on our region in the later part of 2021 and early 2022.

In order to help businesses reopen and stay open safely, we supported the introduction of the B.C. Vaccine Card to protect their staff and customers while we also advocated for relief programs for hard-hit sectors like events, tourism and hospitality. Soon after, we were cut off from the rest of Canada as historic flooding destroyed sections of Highway 1 and the Coquihalla in addition to damaging rail lines. Our team worked with governments and industry stakeholders to ensure alternate routes through the U.S. were opened for those displaced from their homes and critical arteries were repaired.

Ahead of the federal election in fall 2021, GVBOT conducted a survey of members and the public in partnership with Mustel Group. In February, our policy team analyzed the StrongerBC Economic Plan and crafted a communications strategy to share how it would impact businesses.

World Trade Centre Vancouver (WTC-V) had a phenomenal year, welcoming Purolator as a Global Partner alongside Air Canada and Fasken. In January, we partnered with the BCIT School of Business and Media to launch the ESG Fundamentals Microcredential, recognizing a shortage of the talent required to help companies measure and report on their environmental, social and governance factors. In June, we partnered with the Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce for the first time to analyze localized Statistics Canada data on business conditions in Metro Vancouver.

As 2022 progressed and COVID-19 restrictions began to lift, we were able to transition back to mostly in-person events.

2020-21

In a year marked by economic uncertainty, social upheaval and a fundamental restructuring of the workforce, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade was a critical convenor of the business community, working alongside our members to build a vision for a path forward out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hospitality and tourism were severely impacted by health restrictions implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19, so we published the GVBOT Tourism Roadmap alongside InterVISTAS and YVR, outlining a phased approach to ensuring the industry will be able to thrive in the coming years. We also released the 2020 Region in Review report, highlighting metrics on quality of life and economic prosperity in the Greater Vancouver region, and the BC Life Sciences Update 2021, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for our region in the coming years.

In recognition of the evolving need for training around issues of diversity and inclusion, the GVBOT founded a partnership with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) and became the first chamber of commerce to join Presidents Group, an organization created to promote accessibility and inclusiveness in the workplace. Our Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt the Government of Canada’s 50-30 challenge to increase the number of underrepresented groups on corporate boards.

2019-20

2019-20 was a year unlike any other in the Board of Trade’s history. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic changed every aspect of our lives, it also fundamentally altered the way in which we do business, creating challenges no one has ever experienced.

As it has always done during its 133-year history, the Board of Trade swung into action to support our members. From a public policy standpoint we worked tirelessly to advocate on our members’ behalf, representing their interests at all levels of Government with initiatives such as our Economic Recovery Plan and through a dedicated Dashboard launched to guide business owners through a snap Provincial Election.

Despite the COVID-19 crisis, our organization pivoted to deliver the same high-quality events that it is renowned for. We quickly embraced new technology and new ideas to convert our in-person events into virtual offerings, featuring high-profile speakers and panellists such as Premier John Horgan, TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond and iconic entrepreneur, Arlene Dickinson.

Under the leadership of our new President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson, the Board of Trade was successfully able to navigate through the impacts of the pandemic and pivot to ensure its vitally important work reached more members than ever before.

2018-19

In 2018-19 our team once again delivered a year to remember. The year will undoubtedly be remembered for the March 2019 event with U.S. President Barack Obama. The event was the largest and most complex in our history, with little runway to execute but resulted in well-documented success and profile.

From a public policy standpoint, we tested a few new ideas in advance of the municipal elections including, printing a 2018 Local Elections Handbook and launching an online Election Dashboard where throughout the election campaign, we published analysis from our members. Pointedly for our members, included in these efforts was advocacy with Vancouver City Council regarding a two percent shift of the Property Tax Levy from commercial to residential properties (approved in April 2019).

After seven and a half years, Iain Black stepped down as President and CEO. Following an extensive cross-country recruitment process, we welcomed Bridgitte Anderson, the first female President and CEO in the Board’s history.

2017-18

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade reached new heights in 2017-18, achieving one of the largest surpluses in our organization's history and creating buzz across the country. Without question, one of the most obvious achievements was securing two sold-out events with Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama. In addition, the organization also hosted its largest-ever Governor's Banquet, successfully launched the Trade Accelerator Program and trained dozens of local businesses on how to export, released the Greater Vancouver Economic Scorecard 2018, and much more. Other advocacy efforts included our #HitThePauseButton social media and email campaign in response to the federal government's proposed changes to small business taxes, the Federation Flight from Vancouver to Edmonton to show support for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Canada's energy industry, our survey and campaign against B.C.'s new Employer Health Payroll Tax, a new report on infrastructure delivery with the Canadian Global Cities Council, and a report on mobility pricing in our region. As a result of these efforts and the leadership of 2017-18 Chair Anne Giardini, the Board of Trade recorded its highest annual new membership sales ever, and also grew its year-end book of business and increased its already nation-leading membership renewal rates.

2016-17

It was another industrious year for the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, with more than 120 successful events and a number of key public policy initiatives that moved our organization forward. Under the leadership of Chair Robin Silvester, the Board of Trade leveraged the results of the Greater Vancouver Economic Scorecard 2016 — released last May — and resolved to "put the Scorecard to work." This was perhaps most evident in the Board of Trade's report on housing affordability in the Lower Mainland, as well as its 2017 Provincial Election Engagement Strategy, which included the creation of an Election Platform and launch of an online Election Dashboard.

Other highlights for the year included the introduction of GVBOT's Pillar Partners, the expansion of the Company of Young Professionals program to Richmond, North Vancouver, and the Tri-Cities, a new advocacy initiative with the Canadian Global Cities Council, and the WE FOR SHE Conference on gender diversity. It was also announced in April 2017 that the Board of Trade will enter a $2.5-million partnership with the Government of British Columbia to re-establish the World Trade Centre Vancouver.

2015-16

The 2015-16 year was a transformational year, in which the organization officially adopted the name Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, following a historic vote by its membership in January 2016. The new name was chosen by Members because it better reflects the regional focus, policy work, and membership of the organization — which spans far beyond city limits. In addition, the Board of Trade also released the Greater Vancouver Economic Scorecard 2016 — an unprecedented study that compares and measures our region against 19 others from around the globe.

Other highlights included a report on ridesharing and innovative transportation options, the passing of seven policy resolutions at the BC Chamber AGM in Kelowna, advocating for transit and transportation funding in the Lower Mainland, the redesign of the Sounding Board newspaper, and the unveiling of a new logo and new website.

2014-15

"Collaboration" was the theme of The Vancouver Board of Trade's 2014-15 year. Under the leadership of Chair Janet Austin, the Board hosted 142 events with a cumulative audience of more than 23,000 people! These events included the B.C. Tech Forum featuring Chris Hadfield (in partnership with the BC Innovation Council), the B.C. Economic Forum (in partnership with the WEB Alliance of BC), and the Clean Energy Forum (in partnership with Clean Energy BC). In addition, the Board of Trade was also a founding member of the Better Transit and Transportation Coalition — the most diverse coalition in B.C.'s history, comprised of 145 different organizations.

In another unprecedented cooperative initiative, The Vancouver Board of Trade supported the efforts of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and partnered with 12 other chambers of commerce across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley to release a landmark research study on the economic importance of the Fraser River. The Board also hosted Vancouver's two leading Mayoral candidates — Gregor Robertson and Kirk LaPointe — for moderated Q&A events in the lead-up to the 2014 municipal election and had two policy resolutions passed at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM in Charlottetown, PEI.

2013-14

The Vancouver Board of Trade closed the 2013-14 fiscal year with a staggering 1,006 new Members, growing in net memberships for the first time in a decade and bucking a trend for chambers of commerce worldwide. In addition, just hours into its new fiscal year, the organization signed a historic agreement to join forces with the Kitsilano Chamber of Commerce. Under the leadership of Chair Elio Luongo and President and CEO Iain Black, The Vancouver Board of Trade also restored its balance sheet in 2014, eliminating its deficit within just two years — a full three years ahead of a board-approved plan. And in March 2014, The Vancouver Board of Trade welcomed former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, drawing an astounding 2,781 people and setting a record for the largest event in our organization's 127-year history.

2012-13

Under the leadership of Chair Ken Martin, The Vancouver Board of Trade launched its new Policy Council, in order to better coordinate the work of its committees and re-establish a strong voice in the policy arena. The Vancouver Board of Trade advocated on behalf of the city's business community on issues such as the proposed Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) legislation, the City of Vancouver's Transportation 2040 Plan, the proposed replacement of the George Massey Tunnel, the proposed removal of Vancouver's downtown viaducts, the need for mobile business licenses in Metro Vancouver, and the importance of Open Skies legislation to support growth at Vancouver International Airport.

2011-12

The Vancouver Board of Trade released a landmark report entitled Psychologically Healthy Workplaces: Improving Bottom Line Results and Employee Psychological Well-Being. Chair Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia led an urban economic mission to London, England and Milan, Italy. Following a comprehensive multi-year review process, a refreshed set of bylaws were passed at The Vancouver Board of Trade's 125th AGM, reflecting best practices in association governance. In May 2012, The Vancouver Board of Trade hosted an event with Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson, which drew more than 1,400 attendees to the Vancouver Convention Centre.