Filling the data gaps and setting the foundation for new investment attraction

Invest Vancouver's latest report identifies the rising stars with previously unavailable critical regional datasets to advance regional prosperity and amplify opportunities 

The Metro Vancouver region is not only the third largest metropolitan region in Canada, but is the economic centre of British Columbia, and is uniquely positioned as the intersection of commerce with Europe, Asia, and North America. Our region offers a competitive, globally connected business-friendly environment, exceptional quality of life, and a highly skilled and diverse workforce. All of this combined translates into an advantageous regional economy that sets businesses and people up for success. Still, there is a need for a better understanding of the underlying trends in our regional economy.

Data-Driven Understanding

The composition of our regional economy has changed over the past twenty years, reinforcing that we need to be flexible and adapt to market changes. When there is a gap in granular, region-specific data, which we have experienced, it becomes more challenging to identify opportunities for growth and stay competitive in a rapidly changing global economy.

Our latest report, Strategic Industries Analytics Project: Discovering Opportunities in the Metro Vancouver Region's Export-Oriented Industries is a deep-dive exploring twenty years of economic trends in some of the key export-oriented industries in the Metro Vancouver region.

Our Region's Rising Stars

The findings of the report identified Digital Media and Entertainment, Life Sciences, and High-tech Services as Metro Vancouver's rising stars among Invest Vancouver's key industries. Understanding the industries that are growing, and which components are the driving forces, is critical to inform our strategic investment initiatives to guide investment attraction. Underlying all of our region's industries is our Transportation & Logistics industry. While growing in line with the overall economy and underpinning economic growth across industries, Transportation & Logistics is a major employer with our region's strategic location amplifying the competitive advantage of ocean, rail, and air transport.

Content production is the beating heart of the region's flourishing Digital Media & Entertainment industry. In addition, motion picture and television production, post-production (including visual effects and animation), video game design and development, and video game publishing, are all driving growth in that industry in the Metro Vancouver region. High-tech Services is the largest source of employment among the selected industries and has been growing rapidly, adding jobs nearly twice as fast as the economy as a whole.

The long-term trend in Life Sciences has been growth in employment and contribution to GDP, with all four industry components having grown at least 2.5 times in the last two decades. Invest Vancouver published its Strategic Industry Analytics project findings related to Life Sciences in its April 2023 report: Life Sciences in Metro Vancouver: Shaping a Globally Prominent R&D Hub. The report provided an analysis of the data and recommendations to promote further growth in the industry

Informing Investment Attraction

The Strategic Industries Analytics Project fills the need for region-specific, granular data that was not previously available, creating a starting point. It sets the foundation for further investigation of the fastest-growing components of the region's key industries and enables Invest Vancouver to conduct further analysis, understand the components driving growth and make recommendations to advance investment attraction.

The Metro Vancouver region has driven employment growth in the province, but in the global context, the regional economy is still small. Our size heightens the importance of promoting more coordinated efforts in economic development to amplify opportunities and deliver prosperity to the region's 2.8 million residents.

About Lejla Uzicanin, Vice President, Data, Research & Policy at Invest Vancouver

Leading the Data, Research and Policy team, Lejla is responsible for providing objective, independent research, economic analysis, and strategic and policy advice to amplify the region's economic value proposition - increasing Metro Vancouver's global competitiveness to seize opportunities presented in the rapidly evolving global economy.

Prior to joining Invest Vancouver, Lejla was a faculty member with the City University of Seattle, and a senior economist with the BC Utilities Commission. She has a rich international development experience, working in south-east Europe and the parts of the Former Soviet Union, focusing on policy, regulatory, economic and private sector development. Lejla has also worked for the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme.

Lejla holds a Bachelor of Science in Administration and Management from La Roche University, MBA from Cass Business School of City University of London, and a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University. She is a proud member of Rotary International, an organization of people brought together by a desire to make a positive impact in their communities and the world.

About Invest Vancouver

Invest Vancouver is Metro Vancouver's economic development leadership service for the region. By conducting research and policy analysis, fostering collaboration on a local, national, and global scale and attracting strategic investment in export-oriented industries, Invest Vancouver is facilitating a resilient and inclusive regional economy for all. Working closely with leaders across levels of government in the region and beyond, Invest Vancouver is addressing regional concerns to increase economic resilience, strengthen strategic export-orient industries, and attract word-class companies for the region and residents to thrive in today's rapidly changing economy. Learn more about Invest Vancouver.