Cover Story
By Marlyn Chisholm
Resources:
The Driver of BC’s Economy
E
ach year, CPABC produces the BC
Check-Up report to evaluate British
Columbia’s overall economic health.
Research gathered for the report informs
CPABC’s public policy recommendations to
government (see page 6) and drives public
affairs activities that promote the business
and economic expertise of the CPABC
membership.
This year’s BC Check-Up reviewed the state
of the province’s economy in 2013, and
created a forecast for 2014. The focus piece
in this year’s report looks at the province’s
resource sector, which is a key—but often
forgotten—player in the BC economy.
What we’ve forgotten
2014 BC CHECK-UP
BC Check-Up 2014.indd 1
Design Pics/iStock/Thinkstock
A digital edition of the
BC Check-Up is available
at www.bccpa.ca under
the News, Events &
Publications tab.
14-09-09 5:50 PM
British Columbia has witnessed profound
changes in its economic structure and trade
patterns since the beginning of the 20th
century. Over the past 100 years, our province
has transformed from an economy primarily
reliant on the export of commodity lumber
and minerals to one that is far more diversified and dominated by a rapidly proliferating
service sector.
But what prompted this shift?
From its beginning, BC has been a resource
producer and exporter, starting with the fur
trade in the mid-18th century and timber
and gold in the 19th century. Coal, energy,
other minerals, and agricultural products
subsequently emerged as other key BC exports.
Over the past 150 years, the provincial
economy has grown and built on these “basic”
industries—either directly, in support of
industries such as construction, transportation,
and wholesale supply, or indirectly, in support of a wide range of
services such as retail and accommodation.
Traditional resource industries continue to spur development in
both the goods and service sectors, and continue to constitute a large
part of the economic foundation of this province. However, for the
Lower Mainland, the current economy is dominated by a combination
of the knowledge economy, tourism, and a vast array of services, and
our province’s historic role in the resource sector seems to have
receded. It appears that we’ve lost sight of the importance of resources
in our economy, particularly in the Lower Mainland and other major
urban centres.
A snapshot of resource industries today
The forest products industry is a major employer on the coast and in
the Interior. The industry has seen periods of boom and bust throughout
the years as markets and prices varied, with corresponding effects on
company revenues, employment, and earnings. The forest industry’s
fortunes began to wane in the late 1980s, as revenues slumped and
many mills closed, and thousands of jobs were lost permanently
throughout the province. As a result, between 1988 and 2012, the
forest product share of the value of BC global exports declined from
57% to 32.3%.
However, this industry’s fortunes have improved in the past two
years. In 2013, solid wood product exports from BC rose by 25.5%,
stimulated by renewed demand in the US. Employment in wood
product manufacturing rose for the second year in a row. At the same
time, however, pulp and paper exports declined slightly.
BC’s agriculture and fisheries industries are integral to the resource
sector and the provincial economy. Altogether, the value of BC’s
agriculture, seafood, and agri-food industries has risen over the past
25 years. In 2013 alone, BC producers exported $2.9 billion worth of
products to more than 140 countries.1
BC’s most productive farmlands lie in the Fraser Valley, the Peace River
Valley, and the Okanagan Valley, and produce a range of dairy products,
livestock, grain, fruit, and vegetables for domestic consumption and
national and international export. With the consolidation of farms
over the past decade, employment in agriculture has remain Y