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When asked about the BC economy, 40%
of survey respondents rated it as “fair,” and
50% rated it as “good.” Looking to the future,
they expressed optimism for BC, with 34%
predicting that the provincial economy will
improve over the next two years, and 58%
predicting that it will improve over the next
five. Only 8% of respondents said they expect
the BC economy to worsen over the next
two and five years.
Respondents also indicated that they
consider BC to be a driver of the Canadian
economy, with almost 30% saying they expect
the provincial economy to grow at a faster
pace than other regions in Canada. Another
36% said they expect BC’s economy to grow
at approximately the same pace, while 18%
said they expect it to grow more slowly.
On business challenges
Asked to rank 10 potential challenges to
business success in BC, survey respondents
chose the following as the top three (listed
by order of ranking): 1) the ability to attract
and retain high-calibre employees/skilled
labour; 2) the ability to raise capital; and 3)
government red tape.
Overall, 78% of our survey respondents
identified the ability to attract and retain highcalibre employees/skilled labour as a major or
moderate challenge to BC’s business sectors.
The percentage was slightly higher among
respondents from the rural regions of BC
(regions of the province other than the
Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island),
with 82% describing attraction and retention
as a challenge to business success—this reflects
the labour skills gap rural BC is currently
experiencing amid a boom of development
projects.
On economic issues
Housing prices topped the list of economic
issues that hinder business success in BC,
with 81% of survey respondents rating high
housing prices as a “major” or “moderate”
challenge. Unsurprisingly, 84% of respondents
from the Lower Mainland identified housing
prices as an economic issue.
The return to PST/loss of input tax credits
was ranked as the second most challenging
economic issue, followed by BC’s economic
climate and the value of the Canadian dollar
versus the US dollar.
On global issues
Survey respondents identified economic
recovery in the US (76%), commodity prices
(73%), and the slowing of China’s economy
(71%) as the top three global issues that
challenge business success in BC.
Results indicate that levels of concern
about the US economy are consistent across
the province. However, respondents from
the Lower Mainland were more likely than
those in other regions to identify commodity
prices as a challenge. Respondents from the
Lower Mainland also expressed more concern
about the slowing of China’s economy.
On government support to
business
Almost half of our survey respondents said
they think the federal government is doing
a “good” (38%) or “excellent” (4%) job of
creating a healthy business and investment
climate in BC. Similarly, 41% rated the
provincial government’s performance in this
category as “good” (37%) or “excellent” (4%).
By comparison, only 25% said municipal
governments were doing a “good” job of
supporting a healthy business and investment
climate at the local level; another 23% rated
the performance of municipal governments
in this category as “poor.”
Improving regional economic development
was cited as the top priority for the provincial
government by survey respondents—ranking
highest (35%) and second-highest (22%) in
results. Respondents also said the reduction
of government red tape and the restoration
of PST input tax credits would improve BC’s
economy.
In addition, 50% of respondents said increasing the provincial tax rate would have a
negative impact on their company’s/clients’
business investment plan. Respondents from
smaller organizations (those with fewer
than 50 employees) were more likely to say
they expect a negative impact than those
from larger organizations.
On financial management
In terms of business growth, 60% of respondents who work in industry said they believe
their operations will expand over the next
two years. Among respondents in public
practice, however, only 35% said they believe
their businesses will expand; another 61% said
they expect their businesses to stay the same.
About the survey respondents
The Business Outlook Survey was conducted
in September 2014. A total of 2,423 BC
CPAs completed the survey. Of those who
participated