History

The year was 1887. Just 12 short months before, a fire, which had been started to burn slash near the wooden shacks that made up the city, flared out of control and quickly destroyed all but one building. The devastating Great Fire came barely a few months after the city received its charter. But the residents rallied and began the long task of rebuilding over still-warm cinders.

The reconstruction work was haphazard and disorganized. In response, a group of area businessmen met — casually at first — to discuss the need for some kind of formal organization to speed the process. On September 22, 1887, the 31 men — merchants, lumbermen, bankers and manufacturers — agreed to form a Board of Trade.

From the start, the founders knew exactly what they wanted: Their purpose was to create an "organization to protect the interests of merchants, traders and manufacturers, to advance the trade of the area and to promote the advancement and general prosperity of Vancouver." David Oppenheimer, a Bavarian who was elected the city's mayor in 1888, became president, and The Board of Trade set to work.

In the latter part of the 19^th century, Vancouver played a weak second fiddle to both Victoria and New Westminster. The city's 5,000 residents had neither a post office nor a resident judge. The new Board set out with characteristic enthusiasm to bring needed services and facilities to Vancouver. Oppenheimer soon led The Board to the forefront of civic and provincial politics. Within a month, members had drawn up a list of goals and objectives and sent them to the Provincial Secretary, The Honourable John Robson. Besides calling for a land registry office, court house, more schools, playgrounds and mail delivery, The Board wanted direct taxation abolished by both civic and provincial governments.

From its inception, The Board recognized the vital importance of the city's links with nations on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and widened its scope of activities to press Ottawa for an undersea cable so Western Canada could communicate with Australia. Lobbying continued until 1902, when a cable was finally laid from Vancouver to Hawaii and on to Sydney.

Transportation and the development of the port as Western Canada's premiere terminus were important issues of the day. The Board played a major role in lobbying for a five-day steamer service from Seattle to Alaska via Vancouver. Also concerned with opening up trade and business opportunities in the province's northern regions, The Board lobbied the federal government for a railway into the Kootenays in the early 1900s.

Both Victoria and New Westminster continued to wage a losing battle for provincial pre-eminence, but geography and the unflagging persistence of Board members tipped the balance in favour of Vancouver.

With the onset of World War I, membership rose to nearly 1,000. The Board persuaded the federal government to dredge First Narrows for shipping, lobbied for a new city hall and post office, helped create Daylight Saving Time and established a Faculty of Commerce at the University of British Columbia in 1926.

As the organization grew in prestige, it became a privilege to belong to The Board. Various Board bureaus fought for fairer freight rates and expanded markets for B.C. products. The transportation bureau pushed for more and better highways, throwing its weight behind the development of the Trans-Canada Highway and the establishment of a large airport for the city.

By 1952, The Board's activities extended far beyond the initial expectations of its 31 founding members. Ten bureaus and 10 standing committees worked on campaigns, exhibitions, luncheons, educational products, endorsements and representations to all levels of government on behalf of the business community.

The Board often saw what was needed for Vancouver years ahead of government. In the early 1960s, Board members foresaw conventions and tourism becoming major industries in North America.

Another of The Board's continuing platforms through the 1960s was the need for a more efficient regional transportation system, urging the province to establish a metro transit authority and to examine the whole transportation issue.

In 1983, The Board became a member of the World Trade Centers Association. Through this affiliation, it is able to provide communications links to more than 300 trade centres dotted around the globe, an electronic mail service and information search and retrieval from more than 300 databases.

Symbolic of its growing focus on the Pacific, The Board moved into the ocean-front World Trade Centre office complex in 1986, hosting the General Assembly of the World Trade Centers Association the same year.

The Board's speaker programs continue to be successful. Speakers have included such distinguished visitors in recent years as South Korea president Kim Young Sam, Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong, Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo and Prince Philip.

Encouraging member participation, interaction and satisfaction at all levels is an underlying objective of the organization. Ultimately, members should be enriched — professionally and personally — through their association with The Board.

Past Chairs

1887-1888 — D. Oppenheimer (second mayor of Vancouver, often called "The Father of Vancouver" for his innovative policies)
1889 — E. V. Bodwell
1889-1890 — R. H. Alexander
1891 — John Hendry
1892 — G. E. Berteaux and W. F. Salsbury
1893 — J. C. Keith
1894 — G. R. Major
1895-1896 — H. Bell-Irving
1897-1898 — William Godfrey
1899 — C. E. Tisdall, MLA (Mayor — 1922)
1900 — F. Buscombe (Mayor — 1905)
1901 — F. F. Burns
1902 — W. H. Malkin (Mayor — 1929-1930)
1903 — H. T. Lockyer
1904 — H. McDowell
1905 & 1912 — A. B. Erskine
1906 — R. P. McLennan
1907 — W. J. McMillan
1908  — E. H. Heaps
1909 — H. A. Stone
1910 — Ewing Buchan
1911 — A. G. McCandless
1913 — Hon. F. Carter-Cotton
1914-1915 — Jonathan Rogers
1916 — Nicol Thompson
1917 — B. W. Greer
1918 — P. G. Shallcross
1919 — Chris Spencer
1920 — W. J. Blake Wilson
1921 — P. D. Malkin
1922 — R. Kerr Houlgate
1923 — J. B. Thomson
1924 — J. K. Macrea, Q.C.
1925 — Melville Dollar
1926 — F. E. Burke
1927 — Robert McKee
1928 & 1935 — T. S. Dixon
1929 — Hon. W. C. Woodward
1930 — R. D. Williams
1931 — Mayne D. Hamilton
1932 — Harold Brown
1933 — H. R. MacMillan
1934 — George Kidd
1936 — J. Y. McCarter
1937 — Walter M. Carson
1938 — John Whittle
1939 — G. Lyall Fraser
1940 — H. R. Cottingham
1941 — C. E. Anstie
1942 — B. O. Moxon
1943 — Hon. S. S. McKeen
1944 — T. C. Clarke
1945  — Charles A. Cotterell
1946 — W. J. Borrie
1947 — Thos. Braidwood
1948 — H. T. Mitchell
1949 — T. G. Norris, Q.C.
1950 — Col. W. G. Swan
1951 — Ralph D. Baker
1952 — Hon. H. H. Stevens
1953 — Ralph C. Pybus
1954 — G. W. G. McConachie
1955 — Howard N. Walters
1956 — W. H. Raikes
1957 — Brenton S. Brown
1958 — David Kinnear
1959 — A. H. Cater
1960 — R. G. Miller
1961 — E. L. Harrison
1962 — D. T. Braidwood
1963 — W. M. Anderson, C.A.
1964 — Edward Benson
1965 — Ralph T. Cunningham
1966 — Sydney W. Welsh
1967 — William G. Leithead
1968 — J. N. Hyland
1969 — G. R. Dawson
1970 — Edward Disher
1971 — Hon. W. M. Hamilton
1972 — J. L. Dampier
1973 — Alan F. Campney
1974 — Hon. H. P. Bell-Irving, D.S.O., O.C., OBE
1975 — D. G. McGill
1976 — C. L. Goddard
1977 — D. R. Fraser
1978 — D. C. Selman
1979-1980 — A. H. Hart, Q.C.
1980-1981 — W. R. Wyman
1982-1983 — M. E. Nesmith
1984-1985 — A. M. Fowlis
1985-1986 — A. S. Hara, O.C.
1986-1987 — G. P. Clarke
1987-1988 — R. E. Kadlec
1988-1989 — P. H. Hebb
1989-1990 — L. I. Bell, O.B.C
1990-1991 — W. B. McDonald, C.M., O.B.C.
1991-1992 — R. T. Stewart
1992-1993 — David G. McLean, O.B.C.
1993-1994 — Iain J. Harris
1994 — George F. Gaffney
1994-1995 — Jill Bodkin
1995-1996 — Wayne A. Nygren
1996-1997 — Brandt C. Louie, O.B.C.
1997-1998 — Robert A. Fairweather
1998-1999 — A. Allan Skidmore
1999-2000 — T. Richard Turner
2000-2001 — Harri Jansson
2001-2002 — Carole Taylor, O.C., O.B.C.
2002-2003 — Peter Legge, O.B.C.
2003-2004 — Jeff Dowle
2004-2005 — Graeme A.G. Stamp
2005-2006 — Dan Muzyka
2006-2007 — Frank Borowicz, QC
2007-2008 — Henry Lee
2008-2009 — Dr. Don Rix, CM, OBC

Milestones...

Following the disastrous fire of June 13, 1886, when all but one of Vancouver’s buildings were destroyed, Vancouver businessmen held a number of meetings to discuss the need for some kind of business organization that could help to rebuild the young city.

On September 22, 1887, such a meeting was held under the chairmanship of alderman R. Clark and the decision was made to form a Board of Trade.  A pro tem secretary was chosen, in the person of John Devine.

On November 24, 1887, a Charter was issued, which made the new organization official and gave it its name: The Vancouver Board of Trade.

David Oppenheimer was the first president chosen at the small offices in the Gilmour & Clark Block.  The Board’s first bank account was with the Bank of British North America. Some of The Board's first mandates were:

1. Abolition of dual direct taxation (city and provincial) on personal property in the City of Vancouver.  Consultation with the Attorney General was requested.
2. Need for resident judge — population of Vancouver: 5,000.
3. Need for Land Registry Office in the city.
4. Need for court house in the city.
5. Request that the government set aside 50 acres of government land at Hastings townsite for a public park.
6. Need for a bridge across the north arm of Fraser River and a road to the city to transport produce to Vancouver.
7. Encouragement to those developing mines.

1887
September 22, 1887: Thirty-one businessmen agreed to form a Board of Trade to rebuild Vancouver after the Great Fire. It was incorporated federally under the Board of Trade Act. The Board received its official charter on November 24, 1887 and its first headquarters was a tiny office in teh Gilmour and Clark building. 

1888
City Mayor David Oppenheimer became president and The Board sent a list of objectives to the provincial secretary demanding facilities and services for Vancouver. It also called for direct taxation to be abolished.

1891
The Board pressed for the establishment of a submarine cable for communication between Australia and the West Coast of Canada.

1896
The Board lobbied for steamship service to northern points to promote trade and open the country. Application was made to the Dominion government for the construction of a railway through Crows Nest Pass, to open up the Kootenay district. The eventual access provided by the railway to the great mineral wealth of the Boundary and Kootenay country was a tremendous stimulus to the whole province.  

1897
Gold was discovered in the Yukon and men by the hundreds trekked north through the province, establishing for all time Vancouver as the "Gateway to the North."   

1901
A five-day steamer service from Seattle to Skagway with a stop at Vancouver was inaugurated as a result of Board of Trade pressure.     

1902
Finally, to the immense satisfaction of The Board, the first cable was laid from Banfield on Vancouver Island to Fanning Island, south of the Hawaiian Islands; from there to Suva; on to Auckland, New Zealand; and then to Sydney, Australia.

1909
Realizing the growing importance of Vancouver as a port and that its fame was spreading to many faraway places, The Board advocated a new city hall to the City of Vancouver.

1910
Vancouver's port became the first in the Dominion in number of customs entries and clearance.

1911
Opening of the Dominion Post Office, another Board success. 

1913
The Board introduced the idea of Daylight Saving Time for the summer months.  

1914
Membership rose to 1,000. A special Act of Parliament created the Vancouver Harbour Board, and The Board persuaded the federal government to dredge First Narrows for shipping.

1924
Capilano Park came into being through The Vancouver Board of Trade; land is donated by the B.C. Electric Company. In 1946, The Board donated the land to the Vancouver Parks Board for the permanent use of the public.

1926
The Board made a grant to the University of British Columbia for the purpose of establishing a Faculty of Commerce, and assisted in the formation of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

1947
At the 60th Annual General Meeting, Wendy MacDonald became the first woman member.

1952
The Board's 10 bureaus and 10 standing committees worked on campaigns, exhibitions, luncheons, educational products, endorsements and representations to all levels of government. The transportation bureau campaigned on freight rates for the Trans-Canada Highway and for a large city airport.

1960s
The Board predicted conventions and tourism would be a major industry in North America. It campaigned for a metro transit authority and an examination of regional transportation issues.

1972
The Board took its Annual Report to the public for the first time.

1983
The Board became a member of the World Trade Centers Association, providing communications links to more than 300 trade centres globally.

1986
Symbolic of its growing focus on the Pacific, The Board moved into the oceanfront World Trade Centre Vancouver and hosted the General Assembly of the World Trade Centers Association. The Board also championed and hosted the signing of the Asia Pacific Initiative (authored for the federal and provincial cabinets by Board managing director, Darcy Rezac, and chief economist, John Hansen). This was a federal-provincial economic development agreement featuring devolution of Vancouver International Airport, the establishment of the International Banking Centre and a proposal for legislation for an International Maritime Centre. Chairman Graham Clarke hosted U.S. Vice-President George Bush as a speaker.

1987
The 100th anniversary of The Board. A new corporate identity, the logo and crest, was designed. A separate identity was developed for World Trade Centre Vancouver to give it a higher profile. The Board's by-laws were also changed to make all past elected chairmen governors of The Vancouver Board of Trade. As such, they would be welcome to attend board meetings and speak to motions but not vote. To this day, some governors regularly attend monthly board meetings. An inaugural Governor's Banquet, now an annual fund-raising tradition for The Board, was held in May 1987 at The Pan Pacific Hotel, where B.C. Lt.-Gov. Bob Rogers invested 28 governors. The event featured a reception alongside Canada Place aboard four naval vessels, the HMCS Nadon band and a 100-person honour guard from the militia. The Business Hall of Fame was also inaugurated to recognize organizations that have made a contribution to B.C. for 100 years or more. This year, Chairman Bob Kadlec hosted HRH Prince Philip as a speaker. George Pratt was poointed The Board's sculptor-in-residence and presented Prince Philip with a whale carved from rare West Coast rainforest marble.

1988
The Board championed the Free Trade Agreement with the United States; this included mailing 250,000 pamphlets to B.C. households. The campaign was repeated a few years later with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Board also began work in support of the parallel runway at YVR, resulting in Runway 26R/08L opening a few years later.

1989
The Board attended its first World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Since then, The Board has been an active institutional member with this leading global institution. This is a unique privilege for a chamber of commerce. The Board was also invited to join the World Economic Forum (WEF) as an Institutional Member, of which there is only a handful in the world.

1990
The Board launched the federal Debt Clock. See Debt Clock facts and article. The Board also led a mission to Ottawa and Washington, DC, accompanied by Mayor Gordon Campbell, to successfully lobby for fast lanes at the border for business. The result was the PACE lanes in B.C. and, subsequently, CANPASS. Larry Bell and David McLean founded The Vancouver Board of Trade Foundation.

Early 1990s
Sounding Board, The Board's monthly newspaper, switched to a tabloid format and advertising was sold for the first time. Rogers Cable TV (now Shaw) also began to regularly televise Board speaker programs.

1992
The Board and Volunteer Vancouver co-founded the Leadership Vancouver Society. The Board also took a lead role in advocating a local airport authority in Vancouver; YVRAA was established when the federal cabinet approved the transfer of Vancouver International Airport to the local authority under a 60-year lease, with governor Graham Clarke and managing director Darcy Rezac as founding directors. The Minister of Transport also apporved the new runway for YVR which The Board had supported.

1994
The Board was a founding member of the Coalition of B.C. Businesses. The Board's annual Economic Outlook seminar was launched.

1995
The Board successfully lobbied City Hall to reduce property taxes for business by 1.5 per cent and began Networking Roundtables and monthly Members' Receptions.

1996
The Board initiated the first Kansai-Canada West Business Forum with over 300 delegates, 80 from Japan. It also launched The Property Crime Task Force which published its report amid much publicity; the new chief of police adopted the report's recommendations. The Board was active in promoting an expansion of the Convention Centre on the Marathon lands. Director Terry Hui and his software firm, MultiActive, launched The Board's first web site, boardoftrade.com in September.

1997
The second Kansai-Canada West Business Forum was held in Kobe, Japan.

1998
In March, then federal Finance Minister Paul Martin was invited to a meeting of over 800 members of The Board and guests at the Hyatt Regency to stop The Board's federal Debt Clock, just shy of $600 billion. The story was covered from coast to coast and was reported worldwide. See Debt Clock facts and article. Work started on the 2010 Olypmic bid. The first B.C. Business Summit was held with 800 delegates. Community Affairs began an examination of early childhood development, in co-operation with the YWCA. The Advanced Technology Task Force was set up.

1999
The Board introduced the Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program® student initiative, a program that matches post-secondary students with business mentors. In the first year, 200 students joined.

2000
At the millennium, then chairman Rick Turner named The Board's Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program® with 200 students joining in the first year. Through lobbying, The Board achieved a total cumulative reduction of 8.7 per cent of the civic portion of business property tax. The Early Childhood Development Task Force Report, The Convention Centre Expansion Task Force Report and The Leisure, Entertainment and Arts Task Force Report and a task force report on airport governance were published. The Board began giving regular networking seminars as part of the monthly members' receptions and The Board incorporated The Vancouver Board of Trade Foundation as a charity.

2001
With the goal of recapturing the spirit of Vancouver, The Board launched Spirit of Vancouver® to rally business and community leaders to revitalize community spirit and inaugurated the Greater Vancouver Leadership Summit. Carole Taylor volunteered to take the lead with Spirit of Vancouver, resulting in saving the fireworks and renaming them the HSBC Power Smart Celebration of Light and the launch of a new event, Symphony in the Park. The Managers' Toolbox^TM series was developed as an important product offering for small business members and the Community Leadership Summit was launched. The Board's web site, board of trade.com was re-launched with new features that include online registration for events.

2002
The Board's web site, boardoftrade.com had grown to more than 2,200 pages and traffic had climbed to 15,000 visits per month. As a result of efforts spearheaded by The Board, civic property taxes from business to residential properties shifted by a half percent, bringing the cumulative shift to 9.2 per cent.

2003
The Board released its Report on Property Crime in Vancouver. Managing director, Darcy Rezac published a book in February with partners Gayle Hallgren and Judy Thomson, titled The Frog and Prince, Secrets of Positive Networking^TM. Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 Olympics was celebrated under the Spirit of Vancouver brand.

2004
The Board hosted the inaugural meeting of the Greater Vancouver Chambers Roundtable^TM for all of the chambers of commerce in the Lower Mainland and surrounding region to introduce Spirit of Vancouver 2010^TM, encouraging engagement in the planning of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Board was also successful in forming a coalition to demand a new vote by the 2005 TransLink board to save the controversial Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) rapid transit line. The Canadian Chamber adopted a Board resolution on the subject of property crime/sentencing of chronic offenders.

2005
Construction started on the RAV line. The Board hosted the inaugural BC Economic Forum^TM and the 2,100-delegate Hong Kong-Guangdong Business Forum in Canada, welcoming Governor Huang Huahua of the People's Government of Guangdong Province, Chief Executive Donald Tsang of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and hundreds of senior Chinese business delegates. An update crime report was issued and Vancouver City Council approved significant staffing increases for the Vancouver Police Department, one of the goals that The Board has been pursuing. The Board exceeded 5,000 members for the first time in its 118-year history. At the American Chamber of Commerce Executives conference, The Board won first place for "Net Gain in New Member Dollars," with dues income over $1,000,000. The Transit Commission, comprised of more than a dozen municipal mayors, voted to kill the long-awaited and much needed rapid transit line from Richmond and the airport to downtown Vancouver (the RAV line). When this happened, a coalition of 38 associations was formed by the Board. Open-line interviews, opinion polling, op-ed newspaper articles and a flurry of public meetings ensued. Another vote was called and the project was approved. The Board initiated the "Three Legged Stool" campaign to reduce business property taxes. The Board took a very active stance on crime, pressing again and again for the media to focus on the victim's surveys rather than crimes reported to police. Shortly afterward, the Prime Minister Harper's government announced a series of measures to deal with crime, many of which responded to The Board's concerns.

2006
The Board's involvement with the Fair Tax Coalition resulting in a one-per-cent reduction in business property taxes brings the total tax reduction to 10.2 per cent. Lobbying for crime reduction led to the approval of 31 additional police officers and 46 civilian positions for the Vancouver Police Department. The Board also released its landmark report, Reforming the Canadian Health Care System, and launched the Knowledge for the Boardroom^TM — Dedicated to Corporate and Public Stewardship seminar series. Following the success of the Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program^TM (LOT), The Board launched the The Company of Young Professionals^TM (CYP), a program catering to young professionals under the age of 35. Managing director, Darcy Rezac's book, Work the Pond!, was published in the USA by Prentice Hall (Penguin). Chairman Daniel Muzyka initiated the Visioning task force for Greater Vancouver.

2007
As membership reached a record high of 5,600 members, The Board won the Best New Membership Recruitment category in the World Chambers Competition 2007 awarded at the 5th World Chambers Congress in Istanbul. The Board continued its work with the Vancouver Fair Tax Coalition to achieve a freeze on business property taxes at 2006 levels. A Health Clock tracked the number of dollars spent per second on B.C. health care, and new programs included: The Company of Young Professionals^TM (CYP), Women in Business Toolkit, the Quality of Life Dialogues^TM and the PACIFIC ECONOMIC FORUM^TM Leadership Series.

2008
Membership surpassed its previous record, reaching 5,810. Following Board recommendations resulting in a total 12 per cent shift over the years, Vancouver City Council approved a one-per-cent shift per year in property taxes for the next five years; frequent flyer miles were collected to launch the Con Air program to fund the return of out-of-province criminals; work on Canada-U.S. relations led to government discussions and a report on cross-border access; a more objective governance model for TransLink was adopted; the call for savings plans was recognized in the federal budget with a $5,000 tax-free investment provision and the provincial government eliminated capital tax on financial institutions. New events and programs launched included the P3 Forum and The Women’s Leadership Circle® (WLC).

The History of Metropolitan Vancouver
For more on the history of The Vancouver Board of Trade, visit Chuck Davis's web site featuring Biz Biz on The Board's history excerpts from his forthcoming book, The History of Metropolitan Vancouver (The Board is the lead sponsor).

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