Economic development report for 2018 shows tremendous outlook

Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen- our beloved city has been experiencing economic success and it’s projected to continue the upward trend for many years to come.

Prince George has been gaining attention as a city full of promise, luring investors, new families, global expansions and large-scale events.

There are multiple new developments on the horizon; a new fire hall and pool, 151 condos downtown with underground parking, the Marriott Hotel, a Best Western on the west end of town and a slew of new businesses.

Prince George won the bid for the 2022 B.C. Summer Games, an event last seen in our gateway city back in 1990.

The games are estimated to impact the local economy at numbers in excess of eight figures.

Not only that- we are also in the running for the 2020 Brier Cup, the hugely anticipated curling championships.

The City of Prince George released their Economic Development Highlights Report for the first quarter of 2018.

So far, nearly every category has seen positive growth:

• Total value of building permits issued by the City of Prince George from January to March 2018 was $24,889,685. This is an 89.5% increase over the same time period in 2017 when the total value of building permits issued was $13,136,343.
• Residential building permits remain strong in the first quarter of 2018 with total value issued coming in at $18,043,913 compared to the same time last year when residential building permits issued were valued at $7,469,533. This is a 141.6% increase in residential building permits over last year at this time.
• Non-residential building permits also increased 20.8% in the first quarter, from $5,666,810 in 2017 to $6,845,772 in 2018.
• Data provided by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation indicates 137 new houses sold from January to March of 2018, an increase of 328% over 2017 when 32 new houses sold in the same time period. The average price for new houses sold in March 2018 was $461,255.
• Housing construction continues to thrive in the first quarter of 2018 with 2 single family dwelling starts and 10 multiple family dwelling starts, as well as 26 single family dwelling completions and 136 multiple family dwelling completions.
• New business licenses are on the rise as well with 157 new business licenses issued through to the end of March 2018 compared to 105 new business licenses in 2017 in the same time period; this is a 49.5% increase in new business license registrations over last year.
• The Prince George Airport (YXS) reported 126,048 passengers enplaning or deplaning in the first three months of 2018. This is a 6.9% increase in passenger volumes from 2017 when 117,910 people went through YXS from January to March.

Check out the City of Prince George’s year-end video highlighting all of the developments presented in motion:

With Prince George setting its sights on the future, there are many global advancements taking place.

The city has seen the recent addition of the Canada and European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), allowing Prince George companies to benefit from duty-free tariff lines.

The agreement was signed on March 5, 2018 by the City of Prince George in partnership with Northern Development Initiative Trust, the Province of British Columbia and Global Affairs Canada.

Additionally implemented this year is Canada’s newest Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ).

Prince George is the country’s most western inland port that provides tariff and tax exemptions on raw materials and finished goods imports. It is also the first designated location in all of B.C.

With the economic development sector in Prince George taking off, living and investing in the north has never been more desirable.

For more information, check out Invest City of PG or the City of PG downtown development website.

How do you feel about all the changes happening in our city? Let us know in the comments!