Victoria sees signs of economic recovery with surge in film, building permits
The City of Victoria says it's cautiously optimistic about the municipality's economic recovery as B.C.'s COVID-19 reopening plan continues.
While downtown visits and the number of new business licences issued in Victoria plummeted in 2020 during the pandemic, those sectors are beginning to trend upwards once again, or even exceed the same months in 2019 and early 2020 before the pandemic began.
The city says it considers the number of new business licences it approves an indicator of community confidence in the economy. Between February and April 2019, the city issued 600 new business licences. During the same time this year, the city issued 620.
Meanwhile, the number of film permits the city has issued has skyrocketed in 2021.
From January to April in 2020, before the pandemic was declared, the city issued 15 film permits. During that same time period in 2021, the city issued 58.
Earlier this week, the Vancouver Island Construction Association told CTV News there was a construction boom happening across the South Island, with the association predicting a 30 per cent increase in building permits issued this year over 2020.
The association says it anticipates a record year, and Victoria city staff say the current pace of major development applications in the first six months of 2021 is the highest they have ever seen.
"The increase in the number of film permits and the value of construction are good indicators of how attractive Greater Victoria is to people wanting to do business here," said Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce CEO Bruce Williams in a release Friday.
"We see in the data that people are generally returning to typical activity," he said.
As restrictions continue to ease in B.C., the city will be keeping an eye on pedestrian counts in the downtown care and hotel occupancy, which are both still well below total counts in 2019, before the pandemic began.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.