Greater Vancouver economy seems better than it is: BoT

A report that looks at how the Greater Vancouver economy compares to its global peers finds the brand is strong, but performance is lagging.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBT) commissioned The Business of Cities, a U.K.-based urban intelligence firm, to conduct the inaugural “Benchmarking Greater Vancouver Report.”

The report aimed to assess how the region measures up to leading international peer cities on “economic performance, infrastructure & sustainability, and livability.”

A release by the GVBT Thursday says the report showed “a significant gap between how Greater Vancouver is globally perceived and the region’s actual performance.”

The board says that means the local economy is “underperforming,” with the region rated 14th among 20 peer cities for ‘Prosperity’.

Benchmarks for that conclusion include measure of productivity, funding-attracted, start-ups in late stages of growth, and research and development spending in the region.

The report found that housing still dominates local challenges, as Vancouver is the third most unaffordable English-speaking housing market and the average renter spends more of their income on housing than in any other English-speaking peer city.

“While tourists and those from abroad love our city, locals and longer-term visitors are increasingly finding the city unaffordable and lacking in cultural amenities and nightlife experience,” said the release.

GVBoT president and CEO Bridgitte Anderson says the region needs to change to match its economic performance with the brand.

“We need collaborative action to increase our standard of living, unlock investment, and raise incomes, or more people will find themselves priced out,” said Anderson.