July 2019
Economic Development eNewsletter
Economic Update - YTD June 2019
Every month, the Economic Development Division tracks economic indicators to better understand the business climate in Prince George.  Data included in the monthly analysis covers several areas, including employment rates and numbers, real estate developments and transactions, building permit values, business license applications, and airport passenger statistics.
 
Information is gathered from a variety of sources, including Statistics Canada, the BC Northern Real Estate Board, the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation, the City of Prince George, and the Prince George Airport Authority.  
Video
Watch and share the year-to-date June 2019 Economic Update video.   


Attending a conference? Cover half your costs

We've identified a funding source that will cover half of your cost for attending conferences.

CanExport is a multi-year, Government of Canada program that provides direct financial assistance to small and medium-sized Canadian businesses seeking to develop new export opportunities and markets.

  • CanExport will match 50% of your eligible expenses
  • A minimum spend of $10,000 is required
  • Can use the funding for more than one conference
  • Two attendees per conference
  • Expenses eligible for coverage include hotel and food, ground transport, flights, registration, booth and shipping
  • 70% acceptance rate
  • Approval in 20-25 business days - costs cannot be incurred until companies have been approved
BC PNP - Entrepreneur immigration: Regional pilot
Are you an entrepreneur looking to immigrate or know of one wanting to immigrate to BC?
 
Click here or contact keenan.hopson@princegeorge.ca to learn more about the new immigration program in BC.
Prince George featured in Business Xpansion Journal
The Business Xpansion Journal produces bi-monthly economic publications for communities around North America. 

Their latest publication features Prince George and highlights the data centre opportunity. 

Read the full story on page 56 to learn why Prince George is an ideal location for large and small-scale data centres

Western Investor features new downtown condos
If you've been downtown lately, you've probably noticed the construction next to City Hall. 

Kamloops development company, A&T Project Developments, is currently framing the first phase of their Park House condo development. 

Read how the City of Prince George incented this multi-million dollar project and see what owner Frank Quinn has to say about the city.

Birch & Boar - Offering charcuterie and other products
Birch & Boar has been serving up charcuterie to Prince George residents at the Prince George Farmers' Market since November 2017. High local demand led to them to open a permanent storefront with expanded options at 101 - 547 George Street in April 2019.
 
Birch & Boar is the brainchild of Brian Quarmby (pictured), William Miller, Warren Sunstrum, Garrett Fedorkiw and Eoin Foley who all come from restaurant backgrounds and are passionate about food and charcuterie specifically. As their business grew with the Farmers' Market, the idea of a downtown grocery store started really appealing to the co-founders.
 
And so Birch & Boar was born. They chose a downtown location because they've witnessed the positive growth in the area and want to be a part of the movement. They still sell charcuterie, but also offer a wide selection of interesting and diverse products from all over BC including everything from dry goods and dairy to fresh produce. Their daily sandwiches have been a big hit since the store opened.
 
Local partnerships are very important to the co-founders, which is why they partnered with Wild Bread Bakehouse to offer fresh sourdough bread baked in house daily to their customers. According to Brian, the business grew through partnerships they developed through the Farmers' Market and so they continue to work with local companies to mutually grow their businesses.
 
Make sure to stop by Birch & Boar at 101 - 547 George Street to welcome them to their new location and browse their wide range of products.
Smoky J's Smoked Mmmeats - A food truck dream
Jeremy Jean has been dreaming of owning a food truck for the past decade and he finally made it a reality with his wife Celina's support in April of this year. The pair launched Smoky J's Smoked Mmmeats on April 18th and 19th with J's standing for their last name - they're the Jeans.
 
Jeremy has cooked in local restaurants for 15 years and has always loved the idea of being mobile and working outside, so serving food from a truck was the perfect blend of these two worlds for him. Jeremy cooks up and serves beef brisket and a variety of pork dishes as well as wings and sides including smoked potato salad, coleslaw and pulled pork mac n' cheese at various locations around Prince George.
 
Jeremy is extremely passionate about the quality of the food he serves and has had nothing but positive feedback about the taste of his food. He is very grateful for the support he has received from the community so far and is looking forward to popping up at various locations around Prince George for years to come.
 
If you want to check out Smoky J's Smoked Mmmmeats, watch for where and when they'll be serving up their smoked meat dishes on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
Clean technology business profile: Strategic
Originally based out of Chetwynd, Strategic Natural Resource Consultants (SNRC) has been operating in Northern British Columbia since the fall of 2015 and set-up a permanent office in Prince George in 2017.  
 
SNRC has been on the leading edge of technology in the forest industry since its inception. An example of this is the company's early adoption of LiDAR in the early 2000s for working on the steep terrain of BC's Coast. The business is currently utilizing its skills and experience with LiDAR to help companies in Northern BC implement this technology for safe and responsible harvest development on ground previous thought of as uneconomical due to its steep nature.
 
SNRC is also a strong proponent of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for aerial reconnaissance, fire hot-spot scanning, near-infrared imaging, mapping and a host of other applications. Looking to the future, SNRC is exploring new ways to use real-time satellite imagery, ground based LiDAR systems and various applications to deliver safe, responsible and cost-effective solutions to their clients.    
 
SNRC strives to be an active member in the community through employment and community outreach. Since moving to Prince George, the company has improved its ability to recruit and retain skilled individuals, which they believe is partially attributed to the lifestyle and resources offered in Prince George. 
Economic development in the news
Here's a snapshot of what's been happening in economic development news during the second quarter of 2019:
How to reach us
We're available to answer all of your investment related questions, to assist you with acting on business growth opportunities and overcoming challenges, and to provide workforce attraction and retention tools and services. If you have any questions related to these areas, please email us at ecdev@princegeorge.ca or call 250-561-7633.
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