B.C. gov’t announces 10-year ‘Look West’ plan to strengthen economy

The B.C. government is rolling out a new decade-long plan to lock in major projects and build up the province’s skilled workforce.

The “Look West” strategy aims to land $200 billion in private investment, fast-track nation-building projects, and double funding for trades training.

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B.C. Premier David Eby and Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon announced the strategy at a media event on Monday morning.

Eby says the proposed federal budget, which faces its first vote Monday, is designed to reward the provinces that are “willing to put themselves forward and to ensure that they’re delivering projects that will help our country stand on its own two feet” — a notion which he supports.

He says the strategy will help B.C. face economic unpredictability amid the trade war with the U.S. and “attacks” from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“To be able to realize and fulfill our responsibility to support the country — to support this ambitious agenda of the federal government going forward — we need to make sure that British Columbians have the plan to be able to deliver this,” said Eby.

In a conference call on Monday, Eby stated that he told fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney that Ottawa needs to be “relentless and remorseless” in promoting economic growth to deliver prosperity for the country.

The province reports that the strategy’s top priorities are training a skilled workforce and speeding up permitting to deliver big projects. It also aims to develop unique action plans for major sectors of the economy.

“For this strategy, we’re setting an ambitious 10-year plan across all sectors that are critical to B.C.’s future,” said Kahlon. “From life sciences to aerospace, to marine, national defence, construction innovation, to agriculture, food processing, AI, quantum computing, trade and logistics, infrastructure, and critical minerals and energy.

The list of first actions under the strategy, the province says, includes a $10-million investment in direct business supports through the B.C. Manufacturing Jobs Fund, a $33-million contribution to Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub at UBC, an exploratory committee for the integration of AI platforms in the school system, and increased collaboration with SFU’s quantum computing institute.

Businesses now need to see concrete actions

The BC Chamber of Commerce says that reducing reliance on the U.S. is something local business owners are counting on when the strategy is being implemented.

“If we can diversify either the places where we are increasing those trade connections or increasing our trade to places we are already going, countries in Asia or Europe, small businesses, local businesses are going to see an improvement and are going to thrive,” CEO Alex McMillan told 1130 NewsRadio.

He says businesses now need to see concrete actions in order to attract the targeted $200 billion in private investment.

“Whether it is changes to tax structure or other incentives to help create the environment where businesses can really see a return on their investment.”

McMillan says that the government’s strategy is thin on details and needs to deliver those soon.

“What the BC Chamber is looking for is the ways that they [the provincial government] are going to create the conditions to make all these objectives possible,” he explained.

“Whether that might be in the forestry sector, and how we’re going to reduce our costs because B.C. products need to be more competitive in both the domestic and the international market.”

With files from The Canadian Press.