Latest news with #DianaGibson
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. ministers to make tech pitch in Europe as Eby eyes Asia
Minister for Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Diana Gibson meets with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin during the swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Victoria, Nov. 18, 2024. (Chad Hipolito / The Canadian Press) VICTORIA — British Columbia ministers are set to travel to Europe in a bid to diversify and strengthen markets for the province's tech industries, even as Premier David Eby continues an Asian trade mission. The government says Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Diana Gibson, and Minister of State for Trade Rick Glumac will be in Europe from June 9 until June 14. Their delegation will be visiting three major tech conferences, in London, Amsterdam and Paris. Gibson says in a statement that they'll meet investors, government officials and other stakeholders to build connections and showcase made-in-B.C. technology. Gibson's ministry says 16 B.C. firms will be represented at the VivaTech event in Paris, while the province will operate a booth at the GreenTech Amsterdam horticulture technology trade show and connect with B.C. companies in Britain. Eby's 10-day trade trip to Japan, Malaysia and South Korea continues until June 10, amid a push to diversify B.C.'s economy as the trade war with the United States threatens other markets. The jobs ministry says the European Union was B.C.'s fifth-largest destination for exports in 2022. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Business
- Toronto Star
B.C. ministers to make tech pitch in Europe as Eby eyes Asia
VICTORIA - British Columbia ministers are set to travel to Europe in a bid to diversify and strengthen markets for the province's tech industries, even as Premier David Eby continues an Asian trade mission. The government says Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Diana Gibson, and Minister of State for Trade Rick Glumac will be in Europe from June 9 until June 14.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Surge in delegations as Vancouver hosts ‘Olympics of Tech' for the first time
One of the world's biggest technology conferences launched Tuesday with a surge in international delegations as Vancouver hosts the event for the first time – in the middle of trade war. The provincial government provided $6.6 million over three years toward luring Web Summit from Toronto, which hosted the event for three years when it was called the Collision conference. Though the deal was inked last year, the timing has been fortuitous. 'Countries all over the world are scrambling to figure out how they continue to help their companies trade into North America,' said Web Summit founder and CEO, Paddy Cosgrave. 'If they're having difficulty doing that directly through the United States, Canada is the next best place to locate or relocate your operations.' The minister of jobs, economic development, and innovation is pleased to see their investment come at a time international companies are looking north. 'There's real appetite right now from places across the EU and the Asia Pacific,' said Diana Gibson. 'We've got delegations coming from countries from all across the globe and they're really interested in B.C. and in Vancouver.' Cosgrave confirmed there are more government-affiliated delegations in Vancouver than any other Web Summit event they've held; there are four each year, with only one in North America. The Financial Times has called Web Summit the 'Olympics of Tech' The B.C. pitch Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, was an early champion of bringing the event to the city – along with then-jobs-minister, Brenda Bailey – and he opened the event Tuesday evening at the Vancouver Convention Centre. 'Vancouver's more than just the view,' he told attendees. 'This is a city built on bold ideas, on collaboration, and the belief the future doesn't just happen – it's something we create together.' Sim said in the past 10 years more than $40 billion has been invested in companies in the city and welcomed the 'big, bold thinking' and fresh ideas being discussed this week. In addition to the international delegations, there are groups from across Canada and British Columbia seeking to take advantage of the innovation, creativity, and funding in one place. 'It's amazing to have a global audience coming into our backyard,' said Brea Lake, CEO of Accelerate Okanagan. 'Since all of tariffs coming in, people doing business with the states are looking to diversify now and I think this is an awesome opportunity to get to look abroad and see where there's opportunities for collaboration and partnerships.' Week-long event draws thousands More than 15,000 people from 100 countries are expected to attend Web Summit, with networking events and product showcases from apps to AI, robotics to virtual reality. There will be a B.C. Pavilion that's been engineered to showcase both startup companies and established technology companies from across the province as well as big names like Microsoft and Google. 'We've been at the forefront not just of gaming and creative, but of life sciences and biotech and broader tech innovation,' said Gibson. '(Hosting Web Summit) is a culmination of a lot of work that's been done to build our tech ecosystem from our deep talent pool and our world class research institutes to our anchor companies.'
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
B.C. employment rate sees small gains in March amid economic turmoil
Statistics Canada released Canada's jobs numbers Friday, revealing that British Columbia's employment rate had a small gain in March compared to the previous month. However, regions throughout British Columbia appeared to be coping differently with global economic uncertainty. B.C.'s employment rate rose by 0.2 per cent last month to 6.1 per cent, according to StatCan, with 5,700 jobs gained, which it said is not a significant change. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent in March, up from 6.6 per cent in February. That's a decrease of 33,000 jobs across the country. Ontario had the most job losses, with the latest report showing 28,000 jobs lost in that province last month, resulting in an unemployment rate of 7.5 per cent. B.C.'s neighbour, Alberta, also suffered some of the biggest losses, with 15,000 fewer jobs. That province's employment rate is now 7.1 per cent. Saskatchewan gained the most jobs — 6,600, leading to an unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent. Diversifying trade Diana Gibson, B.C.'s minister of jobs, economic development and innovation, said in a written statement that the province's unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country, and lower than the national average. "As British Columbians braced themselves for another week of uncertainty from the United States, our government continues to stand strong for people, take action and defend our jobs," Gibson said in the statement. "All over the world, people are looking for new trading partners as the tariff threat now impacts countries around the globe. We are working to diversify our trade to support our businesses and protect and create more jobs." Gibsons also pointed out that B.C. leads the country with the highest hourly wage among the provinces, at $37.64. Variations by sector But some sectors in B.C. took more of a beating than others. Statistics Canada's numbers show that the wholesale and retail trade sector suffered the biggest job losses last month, with 8,900 fewer people employed. That was followed by a category called "other services," which includes household personal services and repairs and maintenance, with 7,700 jobs lost. The biggest job gains were in health care and social assistance, with an increase of 6,600, followed by the information, culture and recreation sector, up 6,600. Variations by city Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautioned, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Here are the jobless rates for March by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets): Abbotsford-Mission, B.C. 6.1 per cent (5.5) Chilliwack, B.C. 6.6 per cent (7.0) Kamloops, B.C. 5.6 per cent (4.8) Kelowna, B.C. 5.8 per cent (5.3) Nanaimo, B.C. 6.0 per cent (6.0) Vancouver 6.7 per cent (6.8) Victoria 3.6 per cent (3.5)
CBC
04-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
B.C. employment rate sees small gains in March amid economic turmoil
Social Sharing Statistics Canada released Canada's jobs numbers Friday, revealing that British Columbia's employment rate had a small gain in March compared to the previous month. However, regions throughout British Columbia appeared to be coping differently with global economic uncertainty. B.C.'s employment rate rose by 0.2 per cent last month to 6.1 per cent, according to StatCan, with 5,700 jobs gained, which it said is not a significant change. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent in March, up from 6.6 per cent in February. That's a decrease of 33,000 jobs across the country. Ontario had the most job losses, with the latest report showing 28,000 jobs lost in that province last month, resulting in an unemployment rate of 7.5 per cent. B.C.'s neighbour, Alberta, also suffered some of the biggest losses, with 15,000 fewer jobs. That province's employment rate is now 7.1 per cent. Saskatchewan gained the most jobs — 6,600, leading to an unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent. Diversifying trade Diana Gibson, B.C.'s minister of jobs, economic development and innovation, said in a written statement that the province's unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country, and lower than the national average. "As British Columbians braced themselves for another week of uncertainty from the United States, our government continues to stand strong for people, take action and defend our jobs," Gibson said in the statement. "All over the world, people are looking for new trading partners as the tariff threat now impacts countries around the globe. We are working to diversify our trade to support our businesses and protect and create more jobs." Gibsons also pointed out that B.C. leads the country with the highest hourly wage among the provinces, at $37.64. Variations by sector But some sectors in B.C. took more of a beating than others. Statistics Canada's numbers show that the wholesale and retail trade sector suffered the biggest job losses last month, with 8,900 fewer people employed. That was followed by a category called "other services," which includes household personal services and repairs and maintenance, with 7,700 jobs lost. The biggest job gains were in health care and social assistance, with an increase of 6,600, followed by the information, culture and recreation sector, up 6,600. Variations by city Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautioned, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Here are the jobless rates for March by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
