Port of Vancouver: Leveraging the pandemic re-set to future-proof Canada’s largest port
Robin Silvester
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency tasked with enabling Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver.
Through the 18-plus months of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade through the port has shown resilience and strength, confirming the port’s role as a cornerstone of the Canadian economy and a key force in B.C.’s economic recovery. At the same time, this period has highlighted the importance of further future-proofing the gateway system:
- The port’s robust performance in a time of crisis, and swift return to a growth trajectory, has reinforced the need for further expansion of port and trade-corridor capacity—and the imperative to ensure sufficient industrial land is available for this—to meet Canada’s trade potential
- Pandemic- and climate-related supply chain impacts, overseas and locally, have underlined the requirement for a highly-coordinated, data-informed supply chain across Canada—for times of crisis and beyond
- Major wildfires across the globe, including in California and B.C.; typhoons in Asia; and other visible global impacts of climate change, are putting decarbonization front and centre in how the port moves forward
As businesses and organizations globally engage in “pandemic re-sets,” the Port of Vancouver community, its supply chain, and regional supporters have an opportunity to recalibrate as well.
By seizing this moment to deepen collaboration, leverage crisis-honed adaptability and resilience, and embrace a bolder playbook to future-proof the Port of Vancouver, port stakeholders can position themselves to secure the port’s future, and that of its many participants, to our nation’s benefit, in tumultuous times.
Join Robin Silvester, port authority president and CEO, for his 13th annual "State of the Port" address to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, and a moderated discussion with Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson, looking at the path forward for Canada’s largest port.
About the speaker:
Mr. Silvester was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in 2009, bringing to the position extensive international experience in both the port and property sectors. Mr. Silvester spent a significant portion of his career serving in senior roles internationally with P&O Ports. Prior to joining the port authority, Mr. Silvester served as chief executive for the property and facilities management business, United Group Services ANZ in Australia.
Mr. Silvester is a Chartered Engineer, Institute of Corporate Directors, ICD.D, and a graduate of Cambridge University. He completed a corporate finance program at the London Business School. Mr. Silvester is a board member and former chair of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, an executive member and past chair of the Greater Vancouver Gateway Council, Governor of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and past chair of its Policy Council, a director of the Western Transportation Advisory Council, a board member of the Canada West Foundation, a member of the executive committee of the British Columbia Business Council and a past board member of the British Columbia Maritime Employers' Association.
Presenting Sponsor:
Supporting Sponsors:
Community Sponsors:
Production Partner:
Preferred Venue Partner:
Preferred Media Partner:
Presented in partnership with:
