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Introduction

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The Vancouver Island/Coast Development Region (VICDR) has a land area of 84,396 km2  that includes Vancouver Island and the central coast of the BC mainland, from Powell River to just north of Ocean Falls and Bella Coola. In 2009, the Development Region had 772,695[1] inhabitants, or 17.2% of BC’s total population. Most of the VICDR’s population is concentrated on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island between Victoria and Comox, while the Island’s north and west coasts, and the central coast on the mainland, remain largely undeveloped and sparsely populated.

The VICDR’s economy varies from a diversified mix of industries in the more populated southeast part of Vancouver Island, to resource-dependence elsewhere. Construction was the VICDR’s largest goods sector employer over the last six years, thanks to the Region’s strong attraction of retirees. Trade, health care/social assistance, and tourism are major economic contributors throughout the VICDR, while public administration is the economic mainstay of the Capital Regional District.

In the mid and north Island and central coast, resources (principally forestry and fisheries, and related manufacturing) continue to be important despite significantly reduced employment. Mining has enjoyed a resurgence of activity in the past three years due to high commodity prices, and the Raven mine, a major new coal deposit near Cumberland, is poised to start production and export in 2012. Viticulture has also expanded, increasing agricultural economic opportunities in the Cowichan Regional District.

In 2009, the VICDR’s population increased by 7,850 residents, or 1%, compared to the overall provincial growth rate of 1.5%. Over three-quarters of this growth occurred in the Capital, Nanaimo, and Comox-Strathcona Regional Districts, and there was no growth in the Central Coast.

Like the rest of the province, the VICDR felt the effects of the last year’s economic recession. Tourist visits were down for the second year in a row after a decade of steady growth.[2] Housing starts were 60% less in 2009 compared to 2008.[3] Lumber and pulp and paper sales to the US, the Region’s principal market, sank to record lows, resulting in closures and lay-offs in mills and supporting businesses. These cutbacks rippled into job losses across both the goods and service sectors and pushed unemployment to a five year high (7.2%). One of 2009’s few bright spots was a steady recovery in house sales since February, due to low mortgage rates, pent up demand, and lower house prices[4] that resulted in a 15.2% increase over 2008 and a slight rise in building permits at year end.

Footnotes

1. Statistics Canada, Estimates of Population, by Sex and Age Group: Census Divisions and Census Metropolitan Areas - 2001 Census boundaries, Annual CANSIM, Table 051-0036.
2. BC Stats, Tourism Indicators, February 2010.
3. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
4. BC Real Estate Association.