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The West Coast economy is ‘close to firing on all cylinders’ as more British Columbians get jabs in their arms and dig into a stockpile of household savings, according to a new report from the Business Council of B.C. (BCBC).
The report, released Wednesday, sees the province’s GDP growing 5.8% this year — up from the 4.5% projected by the council back in February.
The province’s mass vaccination campaign has ramped up significantly since that winter forecast, boosting growth forecasts as both Canada and B.C. lead many jurisdictions across the globe in terms of vaccination rates.
“The province’s export sector fared very well and it actually helped to dampen or minimize the downturn to the degree that was possible,” report co-author Ken Peacock, the BCBC’s chief economist, told BIV.
“And along with that, related to the resource sector, was this inordinate amount of construction activity in large capital projects. That, too, provided a big lift.”
