https://www.scmp.com/rss/322595/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Beijing Mansion, a luxurious private events space designed in the style of a traditional Chinese siheyuan, or courtyard house, is the only one of its kind in Canada. In Richmond, just south of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada, the venue was put in the spotlight in November 2023 when it gave two young chefs the opportunity to demonstrate their culinary flair and approach to modern Chinese food. William Li, 27, and Toby Chen, 25, were invited to cook for more than 50 guests at the New Wave... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3245998/vancouver-areas-chinese-food-scene-gets-new-perspective-young-french-trained-chefs-give-cuisine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3245998/vancouver-areas-chinese-food-scene-gets-new-perspective-young-french-trained-chefs-give-cuisine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Dec 2023 23:15:12 +0000 Home sales in Canada hit a historic high in October this year, and Hongkongers looking to buy property in the north American country should not wait for a correction and make their purchases as soon as possible, agents and analysts said. From January to October, home transactions reached 581,275, surpassing the 552,423 homes sales recorded last year, according to data from The Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents more than 135,000 real estate professionals. Canada’s average home... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3159602/hongkongers-eyeing-canadian-homes-should-move-fast-booming-prices-only?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3159602/hongkongers-eyeing-canadian-homes-should-move-fast-booming-prices-only?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Dec 2021 23:30:32 +0000 All seems quiet now at the home surrounded by a three-meter hedge in an expensive neighborhood of South Surrey in Vancouver. But on June 17, the $2.2 million mansion was a hive of activity. Police cruisers were parked in the driveway alongside two Maseratis. Yellow caution tape blocked the entrances as officers came and went. At 5.30 am that day, 41-year-old Chinese immigrant Bo Fan had been dropped off outside the nearby Peace Arch Hospital. She was gravely injured – police have not described... https://www.scmp.com/society/homicide-canada-cast-new-doubts-chinese-group-create-abundance/article/3094218?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/homicide-canada-cast-new-doubts-chinese-group-create-abundance/article/3094218?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jul 2020 10:07:53 +0000 Five years ago, Vancouver was at a crossroads. The glow of the 2010 Winter Olympics had worn off, leaving local taxpayers shouldering a C$1.7 billion (US$1.26 billion) bill. Olympic Village, south of downtown Vancouver, was mostly vacant in 2013. The plan was to turn it into Vancouver’s newest community, but buyers were wary after reports that the units – erected in record time – were plagued with construction problems. Vancouver: where property developers don’t always get their way Across the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2164218/crazy-rich-asians-blamed-vancouvers-housing-affordability-crisis-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2164218/crazy-rich-asians-blamed-vancouvers-housing-affordability-crisis-political?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Sep 2018 17:00:00 +0000 Economic history turns in cruel cycles. A decades-old problem (familiar to many in Hong Kong) has finally peaked in Canada, as real estate critics and citizens who cannot afford to live in Vancouver are demanding every kind of restrictive policy against foreign buyers to control prices. But the emerging political and economic policies of the New Democratic Party-Green Party provincial government in British Columbia could actually worsen housing affordability and business development. While the... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2130885/vancouver-too-tough-doing-business-other-being-ideal-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/2130885/vancouver-too-tough-doing-business-other-being-ideal-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jan 2018 03:59:14 +0000 Ottawa’s tough new drone regulations may mark a downward spiral for Canada’s recreational market. But the clouds may be clearing for researchers and private firms investing in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) innovations as regulators try to make the skies safer. Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau announced last month restrictions that would ban recreational drones from flying higher than 90 metres; within 75 metres of buildings, vehicles or people; or within nine kilometres of any... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2084988/tighter-federal-drone-rules-could-drive-canadian-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2084988/tighter-federal-drone-rules-could-drive-canadian-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Apr 2017 03:15:15 +0000 It may be a few years yet before any company starts exporting liquefied natural gas from British Columbia, Canada to Asia. Meanwhile, B.C. producers are finding a small but growing domestic market for natural gas, in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), in the trucking and marine transportation sectors. Last month, BC Ferries received its second purpose-built LNG ferry from Poland. That brings to four the number of LNG-powered ferries that will soon be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2084689/use-lng-transportation-fuel-accelerates-bc-canada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2084689/use-lng-transportation-fuel-accelerates-bc-canada?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Apr 2017 07:45:30 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Jim Pattison, the CEO of the Jim Pattison Group, has donated C$75 million (US$56,092,500) to the St. Paul’s Foundation for the building of the new St. Paul’s at the Jim Pattison Medical Centre in Canada. According to the foundation, this was the largest donation by a private citizen to a single medial facility ever seen in Canada. “Jim Pattison’s gift will help us realise an exceptionally rare opportunity to build a major medical and research centre from the ground up... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2083168/canadian-billionaire-makes-biggest-donation-canadian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2083168/canadian-billionaire-makes-biggest-donation-canadian?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Mar 2017 09:30:45 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Renting an apartment in Vancouver is notoriously difficult and expensive, but a new report tries to make the case that what you pay to rent a one-bedroom apartment in this city is actually not bad when you consider that we are living in one of the world’s top financial centres. The study, conducted by U.S.-based apartment listing service RentCafé, found affordability in Vancouver is reasonable when compared with that in other global financial “powerhouses,” determined on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2081515/vancouver-rent-expensive-its-reasonable-financial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2081515/vancouver-rent-expensive-its-reasonable-financial?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2017 06:23:12 +0000 By Tyler Orton British Columbia Premier Christy Clark used the B.C. Tech Summit on Tuesday (March 14) to tout the province as an open, inclusive alternative for high-skilled foreign workers wary of trying to land jobs in the United States. “Around the world, we all see it every day, countries are looking inward and that is a terrible … trend. But it is also, for us as Canadians and us in British Columbia, an opportunity,” the premier said during a 20-minute keynote address to kick off the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2079028/clark-positions-british-columbian-tech-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2079028/clark-positions-british-columbian-tech-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 04:20:38 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel The cleantech industry was worth C$1.8 bilion (US$1,338,339,762) to British Columbia’s economy in 2016, and it is outpacing most other sectors in terms of growth and job creation, according to a KPMG report released March 13. The number of B.C. cleantech companies, which include those whose primary purposes are clean energy production, water treatment and energy or resource management, increased from 202 in 2010 to 273 last year. The sector employed 8,560 people last... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2078703/cleantech-one-fastest-growing-industries-british?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2078703/cleantech-one-fastest-growing-industries-british?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Mar 2017 07:03:08 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Women in Canada earned, on average, C$0.87 (US$0.64) for every Canadian dollar earned by men in 2015, Statistics Canada said in a new study compiled using data from its monthly Labour Force Survey reports, and while the gender wage gap has narrowed over time, it persists in part due to differences in how female-dominated careers fields are valued, In the report, released on International Women’s Day, StatsCan said more than half of all employed women are working in fields... https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2077393/devaluation-womens-work-partly-responsible-canadas-wage-gap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2077393/devaluation-womens-work-partly-responsible-canadas-wage-gap?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Mar 2017 05:00:15 +0000 By Tyler Orton Ahead of a May lecture in Edmonton, Nejeed Kassam is cutting it tight between the time his plane lands and when he’s expected to speak. “I can’t do that in the U.S. anymore,” said the CEO of Vancouver-based Keela, a startup that builds management tools for the non-profit sector. Kassam, a practising Muslim, has cancelled two trips to the United States since the beginning of the year over concerns he’ll be held up at the border. Just weeks after U.S. courts dismissed U.S. President... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2075026/canadian-entrepreneurs-tap-tech-skirt-us-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2075026/canadian-entrepreneurs-tap-tech-skirt-us-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Mar 2017 03:12:21 +0000 The minimum wage in British Columbia, Canada will increase by 50 Canadian cents to C$11.35 (US$8.60) an hour, effective September 15, 2017, the provincial government announced February 27. This amount is 10 cents higher than the C$11.25 (US$8.53)-per-hour minimum wage the B.C. government had in May 2016 said would go into effect in September of this year. In a news release, the government said the new rate includes a 20-cent increase tied to inflation plus an additional 30 cents; the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2074671/bcs-minimum-wage-reach-us860-hour-september?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2074671/bcs-minimum-wage-reach-us860-hour-september?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2017 03:45:00 +0000 By Hayley Woodin What started out as a side project taking landfill-bound materials and turning them into furniture quickly became a business for Jesi Carson and Theunis Snyman. The duo run Basic Design, a social enterprise housed in a studio at MakerLabs, a 26,000-square-foot Railtown workspace complete with laser cutters, 3D printers and other maker tools. While the company produces unique pieces of furniture and products such as wallets and mobile phone cases out of second-hand materials, the... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2073778/making-business-case-upcycling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2073778/making-business-case-upcycling?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Feb 2017 08:45:30 +0000 By Tyler Orton Free cookies and open houses might not cut it anymore for Vancouver real estate professionals trying to entice potential buyers who are increasingly dependent on augmented or virtual reality (VR) experiences. When LNG Studios was hired last spring to help promote the Concord Pacific Brentwood condominium project in Burnaby, the tech firm gave away 10,000 VR Concord-branded headsets. The headset giveaways weren’t just a pricey upgrade on the free calendars or pens realtors usually... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2072956/virtual-realty-delivers-vancouvers-property-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2072956/virtual-realty-delivers-vancouvers-property-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2017 04:44:59 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Pets in New Zealand will soon be going green, thanks to a new agreement between a medical marijuana company based in the Canadian city of Vernon and New Zealand’s largest pet retail chain. True Leaf Pet has entered into a deal with Christchurch’s Liberty Premium Pet Products to distribute its True Hemp-branded pet chews in pet stores across the country, marking the company’s first foray into the Asia Pacific region. “With no other comparable hemp-based therapeutic dog... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2072546/canadian-medical-marijuana-company-distribute-pet-products-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2072546/canadian-medical-marijuana-company-distribute-pet-products-new?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Feb 2017 03:15:30 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver remains the highest in Canada, and it increased another 1.6 per cent in February, reaching the highest level on record. Vancouverites are, on average, paying C$1,900 (US1,454) for a one-bedroom unit, according to PadMapper. The increase comes in spite of a drop in average home prices across the city; the British Columbia Real Estate Association announced home prices fell 19 per cent year-over-year in... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2071750/average-vancouver-one-bedroom-rent-reaches-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2071750/average-vancouver-one-bedroom-rent-reaches-record-high?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Feb 2017 06:00:00 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Home sales across British Columbia returned to a historic average level in January, according to British Columbia Real Estate Association data. A total of 4,487 homes changed hands last month, which is right at the average level for the month of January. It is down slightly from the 4,721 units sold in December. Sales varied widely by region, and Vancouver sales as a percentage of total provincial transactions fell from 43 per cent in January 2016 to 35 per cent last... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2071410/bc-home-sales-settle-back-historic-averages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2071410/bc-home-sales-settle-back-historic-averages?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Feb 2017 05:45:45 +0000 By Tyler Orton One of the world’s largest payments processors is making a play for B.C. PayPal Holdings Inc. is acquiring Vancouver-based TIO Networks in a deal worth C$304 million (US$232,546,823). The companies announced the definitive sales agreement, which will see PayPal pay C$3.35 (US$2.56)per share in cash — a 22.6 per cent premium above its 20-trading day average price. TIO Networks chairman and CEO Hamed Shahbazi told Business In Vancouver he was “very excited” his company was becoming... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2071041/paypal-acquires-vancouver-based-tio-networks-us232-million-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2071041/paypal-acquires-vancouver-based-tio-networks-us232-million-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Feb 2017 05:15:30 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel More than two-thirds of the people living in Canada live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border, and more than two-thirds of the entire population of the country live in the three largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in the country: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, according to Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census data released. The population of the Vancouver CMA grew 6.5 per cent between 2011 and 2016 after growing 9.3 per cent between 2006 and 2011. While the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2069413/vancouver-has-highest-population-density-canada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2069413/vancouver-has-highest-population-density-canada?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Feb 2017 03:45:45 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel The provincial British Columbia government in Canada is investing C$40 million (US$30.53 million) in its Clean Energy Vehicle Programme in a move intended to make zero-emission vehicles more affordable. The money will be distributed over the next three years and will reduce the price of battery electric vehicles by C$5,000 (US$3,817) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles by C$6,000 (US$4,581). It will also go toward the expansion of charging and hydrogen fuelling... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2068710/bc-canada-investing-us305m-zero-emission-vehicle-programme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2068710/bc-canada-investing-us305m-zero-emission-vehicle-programme?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Feb 2017 04:15:30 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Months after new government measures such as the 15 per cent foreign-buyer tax and federal mortgage rules put in place to cool the housing market in Vancouver, home sales across the region continue to drop. A total of 1,523 homes were sold in Metro Vancouver in January, according to Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver statistics released February 2, which is down almost 40 per cent compared with the 2,519 units sold in January 2016. It was also more than 10 per cent... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2067768/january-home-sales-10-cent-below-vancouvers-10-year-average?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2067768/january-home-sales-10-cent-below-vancouvers-10-year-average?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Feb 2017 03:15:15 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Confidence in the British Columbia provincial economy has grown over the past year, according to the results of a survey by BC market research firm, and this has translated into residents feeling less concerned about their own finances. The poll found 38 per cent of British Columbians have worried about their finances in the past couple months, down from 47 per cent last year. Overall, 61 per cent said economic conditions in B.C. were “good” or “very good.” This is 15... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2067454/british-columbians-less-concerned-about-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2067454/british-columbians-less-concerned-about-their?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Feb 2017 04:45:30 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel More and more Canadians are subscribing to Netflix, but not everyone who subscribes is a paying customer, according to the results of a new study. The percentage of Canadians who subscribe to Netflix grew to 44 per cent in 2016, up from 41 per cent the year before, but many of those viewers are watching the service for free, according to the research conducted by Media Technology Monitor (MTM) for CBC/Radio Canada. “With a growing amount of original content, Netflix... https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2067155/third-canadian-netflix-subscribers-are-sharing-their-accounts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2067155/third-canadian-netflix-subscribers-are-sharing-their-accounts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Feb 2017 06:30:45 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel The British Columbia government intends to exempt foreign nationals with work permits from having to pay the 15 per cent foreign-buyer tax on Metro Vancouver home sales implemented last summer, Premier Christy Clark announced at an event in Vancouver. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance told Business in Vancouver the government has not set a timeline for the change, but they plan to have it implemented “as soon as possible.” The spokesperson was unable to comment... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2066734/bc-government-plans-lift-15-cent-foreign-buyer-tax-those-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2066734/bc-government-plans-lift-15-cent-foreign-buyer-tax-those-work?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Jan 2017 02:45:15 +0000 Mengfa International Resources Inc., the owner of a commercial strata unit atin Vancouver, is suing the owners of Strata Plan LMS 4025 for refusing to allow a Moby Dick fish-and-chips franchise to open in the building because the restaurant’s name was “offensive.” Mengfa filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court on January 9, claiming its former tenant, which ran an Asian-fusion restaurant called The Change, had hit a financial rough spot in April 2016. In May 2016, Mengfa found a new... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2065300/canadian-property-owner-sues-over-denial-moby-dick?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2065300/canadian-property-owner-sues-over-denial-moby-dick?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jan 2017 04:45:45 +0000 By Nelson Bennett In 1944, Canadian scientists began working on nuclear energy as a power source, and in 1952 the Canadian government got behind the effort by forming Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Canadian scientists went on to develop the CANDU reactor – a technology that provides about 16 per cent of Canada’s electricity (mostly in Ontario) and has been exported to India, Pakistan, Argentina, South Korea, Romania and China. A spin-off has been the production of radioactive isotopes for nuclear... https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2064997/could-canadian-fusion-power-be-play-2030?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/2064997/could-canadian-fusion-power-be-play-2030?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2017 09:15:15 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel For Vancouver-area residents under 35, the only place in British Columbia in which they want to live is the Lower Mainland, and most would rather move to another province than live in another part of BC. According to survey conducted by Insights West for real estate adviser firm Resonance Consultancy, 87 per cent of those asked where they would choose to live if money were no object would choose to stay in the region. Moving outside of British Columbia came in a distant... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2064888/most-young-vancouver-residents-would-rather-leave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2064888/most-young-vancouver-residents-would-rather-leave?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2017 03:30:00 +0000 By Glen Korstrom Planets and stars are aligning for a resources boom and a dip in real estate prices, particularly in Metro Vancouver, Canada, Richmond-based fortune-teller and astrologer Sherman Tai told Business in Vancouver. He bases his predictions on the alignment of stars, the annually rotating, 12-symbol Chinese zodiac and a connection with one of five lucky elements that rotate at two-year intervals. Each Lunar, or Chinese, New Year is linked with a heavenly zodiac sign and a material... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2064552/lunar-new-year-bright-metals-oil-bc-liberals-canada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2064552/lunar-new-year-bright-metals-oil-bc-liberals-canada?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jan 2017 03:15:45 +0000 By Glen Korstrom The Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) has revealed a 20-year, C$5.6 billion (US$4.2 billion) plan to upgrade its Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Its wide-ranging plan forecasts 75 major projects with much of the money going toward a set of extensions to five arms that branch off the main terminal. No government funding is anticipated for the expansions, said VAA CEO Craig Richmond. Instead, Richmond said that the VAA will likely accumulate up to C$2 billion (US$1.5... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2063520/vancouver-airport-reveals-us42-billion-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2063520/vancouver-airport-reveals-us42-billion-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jan 2017 04:30:15 +0000 By Glen Korstrom Digital advertising’s effectiveness at targeting messages to consumers is likely to drive continued expansion in the sector despite online marketing’s vulnerability to manipulation and fraud, say industry insiders. Deception is a risk because many forms of digital advertising rely on software code, or algorithms, that can be manipulated by hackers or misinterpreted by large media companies. In November, Facebook admitted that it overcounted how many people were exposed to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2063112/hacking-highlights-risks-digital-advertisers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2063112/hacking-highlights-risks-digital-advertisers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jan 2017 03:45:15 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Home sales across British Columbia slowed in the last half of 2016, in part because of new federal, provincial and municipal efforts to cool heated real estate markets, but the province still had a record sales year because of heated activity in the first six months of the year. A total of 112,209 units changed hands last year, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association, which is an increase of 9.5 per cent compared with 2015. The total dollar volume... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2062776/bc-has-record-year-home-sales-2016?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2062776/bc-has-record-year-home-sales-2016?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jan 2017 07:00:45 +0000 By Glen Korstrom CIBC has launched what it calls Canada’s first ski-thru automatic teller machine (ATM) atop Whistler Mountain outside the Roundhouse Lodge. The stand-alone red box that houses the ATM is 8.5 feet high, weighs 4,676 pounds and is located 6,069 feet above sea level. CIBC said in a release that the initiative is part of a five-year partnership with Whistler Blackcomb, which is now a division of Colorado’s Vail Resorts thanks to a US$1.05 billion friendly takeover that finalised on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2061850/cibc-opens-canadas-first-ski-thru-atm-whistler?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2061850/cibc-opens-canadas-first-ski-thru-atm-whistler?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jan 2017 03:15:45 +0000 By Tyler Orton After combing through his corporate inbox on a single morning in January, Mike Gardner cleared more than a dozen job applications for his Vancouver-based financial technology company. Agreement Express Inc. is in the midst of a hiring spree after opening a Toronto office last year. It plans to expand its total head count from 60 to as many as 100 workers by the spring. Despite the new Toronto office just off Bay Street, all the applications that CEO Gardner cleared from his inbox... https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/2061499/upstart-vancouver-eyes-torontos-fintech-crown-canada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/2061499/upstart-vancouver-eyes-torontos-fintech-crown-canada?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jan 2017 04:00:00 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Housing starts in British Columbia, Canada increased to 41,800 units on an annualised basis in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, giving last year the province’s highest yearly total since 1993. In Vancouver alone, starts reached 26,500 annualised units in December, which is up from 22,400 in December 2015. Across Canada, starts increased to 207,000 annualised units in December, compared with 170,900 units in December 2015. BMO senior... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2061199/bc-housing-starts-hit-highest-level-decades-last-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2061199/bc-housing-starts-hit-highest-level-decades-last-year?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2017 06:15:45 +0000 By Glen Korstrom The University of British Columbia (UBC) has announced that it has reinstated controversial business leader John Furlong as the keynote speaker at the 18th annual ZLC Millennium Scholarship Breakfast on February 28. The event is intended to raise money for annual and endowed scholarships for UBC’s varsity athletes. The university had cancelled Furlong’s appearance because of student complaints related to unproven allegations that, between 1969 and 1972, Furlong had abused... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2060797/canadas-ubc-reinstates-controversial-keynote-speaker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2060797/canadas-ubc-reinstates-controversial-keynote-speaker?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2017 03:30:30 +0000 By Glen Korstrom With the federal government on the verge of legalising marijuana, high-value strategic assets in the cannabis sector are becoming valuable. That is how Ottawa-based cannabis firm CannaRoyalty Corp. explained its interest in buying a 20% stake in Vancouver’s Anandia Laboratories. The companies announced January 9 that they have signed a letter of intent for CannaRoyalty (CSE:CRZ) to acquire that 20% stake in Anandia for C$4 million (US$3,029,041). Anandia is a biotechnology... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/investment-products/article/2060795/cannabis-firm-pay-us3-million-stake-vancouver?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/investment-products/article/2060795/cannabis-firm-pay-us3-million-stake-vancouver?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2017 03:30:15 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel British Columbians have been dealing with low temperatures for the past several days, and this has driven demand for electricity upward with power consumption reaching a record high across the province. On January 3 between 5 and 6 pm local time, residents across the province consumed a total of 10,126 megawatts of electricity, which is the most power ever used there in a single hour. Before this, the highest electricity ever consumed was on November 29, 2006, also... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2059523/canadian-winter-weather-pushes-bc-power-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2059523/canadian-winter-weather-pushes-bc-power-consumption?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Jan 2017 03:00:30 +0000 By Nelson Bennett The hydrogen fuel cell car, which has been promised since the 1990s, is finally here. Well, sort of. Toyota and Hyundai have both recently rolled out new hydrogen fuel cell cars, but getting one is a bit like adopting a child: there are forms to fill out, wait-lists to sign up for. High costs and a lack of hydrogen fuelling infrastructure means the car of the future is still somewhat stuck in the future. Recognising this, Ballard Power Systems switched focus several years ago... https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2058930/kick-starting-drive-hydrogen-fuel-cell-20?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2058930/kick-starting-drive-hydrogen-fuel-cell-20?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jan 2017 08:29:29 +0000 By Tyler Orton Volkswagen is looking for some change and parking money in a Vancouver company. The German auto giant’s financial services division has acquired PayByPhone, a mobile payments service that allows drivers to forgo coins at meters by using a smartphone app to pay for parking. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “The mobile payment movement has exploded recently, and we look forward to accelerating our consumer parking and payments agenda made possible by this deal,” PayByPhone CEO... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2057893/volkswagen-acquires-vancouvers-paybyphone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2057893/volkswagen-acquires-vancouvers-paybyphone?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Dec 2016 06:15:15 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Access to high-speed Internet is “necessary to the quality of life for Canadians” and is now a basic right for all Canadians, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced, marking a departure from its previous stance that minimum standards applied only to voice services. Calling broadband Internet “necessary to the quality of life for Canadians,” the CRTC announced it has set minimum access speed of 50 Mbps for downloads and 10 Mbps for... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2056856/canada-declares-broadband-internet-access-basic-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2056856/canada-declares-broadband-internet-access-basic-service?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Dec 2016 06:15:00 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Vancouver’s housing market remains the most unaffordable market in Canada by far, and in 2016’s third quarter, affordability eroded further, according to RBC’s Housing Trends and Affordability report released December 21. On average, in 2016’s third quarter, Vancouverites needed to spend 92 per cent of their median pre-tax household income to service the costs of mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities, based on the average market cost for all housing types. This... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2056519/vancouver-home-affordability-hits-record-low-may-be-turning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2056519/vancouver-home-affordability-hits-record-low-may-be-turning?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Dec 2016 03:45:45 +0000 By Nelson Bennett The first of an anticipated bevy of legal challenges to the federal government’s approval the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been filed. Ecojustice, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Living Oceans Society filed for a judicial review of the federal government’s approval of the expansion. The application argues that federal cabinet broke the law in accepting the National Energy Board’s “overly narrow interpretation” of laws protecting resident killer... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2056266/canadian-environmentalists-fight-pipeline-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2056266/canadian-environmentalists-fight-pipeline-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Dec 2016 03:15:15 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel A handful of British Columbian groups are banding together to bring food, gear and some much-needed distraction to the stranded crew of the Hanjin Scarlet. Thirteen crewmembers are on the vessel, which is anchored off Saturna Island. Some of those on board have been stuck on the ship since August 31, when the Hanjin Shipping Co. filed for bankruptcy. Although the cargo was offloaded in Vancouver over a month ago, crewmembers are in limbo as they can’t come on shore... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2055136/british-columbia-prepare-holiday-care-packages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2055136/british-columbia-prepare-holiday-care-packages?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Dec 2016 04:45:00 +0000 By Glen Korstrom Victoria in Canada has changed the provincial regulation that governs how British Columbian wineries label their wines to include three relatively non-controversial recommendations that passed in a plebiscite that the industry held between May 20 and July 1. The three changes are that: •B.C. wines that have an approved sub-geographical indication on the label, such as Golden Mile Bench, also must have the larger geographical identifier, Okanagan Valley on the label; •future... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2053221/british-columbia-changes-regulations-bc-wine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2053221/british-columbia-changes-regulations-bc-wine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2016 05:15:00 +0000 By Emma Crawford Hampel Housing starts picked up in November in the Vancouver area after a weak October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data released December 8. A total of 31,980 units were started in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), up from 11,993 in October, setting the stage for 2016 to be a record year. Starts were trending at 27,495 units in November; this is a measure of six-month moving average of monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates. In October,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2053218/vancouver-housing-starts-rebound-november?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2053218/vancouver-housing-starts-rebound-november?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2016 05:00:45 +0000 By Tyler Orton Much like AirBnB is reinventing the hospitality sector, Paul Allard imagines Canada’s newest bank will reinvent the country’s banking system. The president and co-founder of Montreal’s Impak Finance is in the midst of raising capital for what he describes as the “first responsible bank in Canada.” “Responsible,” Allard said, because it will invest only in “companies that want to solve a social and/or environmental issue by using innovation and making money.” For any Canadian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2052512/british-columbian-startup-pioneering-bank-ownership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2052512/british-columbian-startup-pioneering-bank-ownership?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2016 04:51:03 +0000 By Bob Mackin   A division of one of China’s biggest state-owned corporations, which has links to the military, opened a downtown Vancouver art gallery in Canada, November 30, and its CEO said corporate siblings may follow. “Coming to Vancouver is connected with Poly Culture Group’s strategy decided by its directors; whether Poly Real Estate and Poly Technologies will come to Canada will be decided by themselves,” Poly Culture CEO Jiang Yingchun told Business in Vancouver through an interpreter.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2052511/hard-currency-soft-power-poly-culture-rolls-british?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2052511/hard-currency-soft-power-poly-culture-rolls-british?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2016 04:45:15 +0000 By Bob Mackin Canada’s Richmond Centre Conservative MP Alice Wong is preparing a private member’s bill to limit birth tourism, after the federal Liberal government failed to act on an electronic petition that she sponsored. “This is an issue that needs to be examined,” Wong told Business in Vancouver. “It’s not only myself that would like to see this changed, almost 9,000 people signed this petition from around the country.” Richmond resident Kerry Starchuk initiated petition e-397, which drew... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2052136/canadian-liberals-give-frosty-reception-petition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2052136/canadian-liberals-give-frosty-reception-petition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Dec 2016 04:45:00 +0000