CPABC: Major project activity in Southwest B.C. rises in 2024
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to
BC Check-Up: Invest
, an annual report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) on investment trends across the province, the value of major projects in Southwest B.C. was $136.8 billion in Q3 2024, up 20.6 per cent from one year earlier.
'Expanding infrastructure investment is crucial in order to support the region's growing population and enhance the region's economic stability,' said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president and CEO of CPABC. 'It's encouraging to see more projects break ground and a stronger pipeline compared to last year.'
Projects under construction accounted for just under half of the total inventory value, $64.4 billion, as construction started on 23 projects with a total capital cost of $4.3 billion between July and September 2024.
'The B.C. government has ramped up capital spending on health care and transportation in recent years, and a lot of that new activity has happened in the Lower Mainland,' continued Mathison. 'Coupled with the dramatic need for more housing, it is easy to see why major project activity in Southwest B.C. outperformed the rest of the province in 2024.'
Construction began on 30,367 housing units in Southwest B.C., down 14.6 per cent compared to 2023. There were fewer starts in both the attached and detached markets, where new activity fell by 14.1 per cent and 18.0 per cent respectively. High-density projects such as apartments and row housing accounted for 88.4 per cent of the total.
'The fact of the matter remains that we need a lot more housing in Southwest B.C.,' concluded Mathison. 'The construction industry has grappled with higher interest rates the last couple years and now has a trade war to contend with. The resulting high costs are a significant challenge to our real need to dramatically increase the housing supply.'
To learn more, see
www.bccheckup.com
.
About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards and contributing to the advancement of public policy. CPAs are recognized internationally for bringing superior financial expertise, strategic thinking, business insight, and leadership to organizations.
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