Economy:
Resource based industries such as mining, forestry, oil and gas have been the driving force behind the economy for much of its history and continue to play an important part in the prosperity of the city.
However, Vancouver's economy has become increasingly diverse in recent years with growth in areas such as advanced technology, financial services and tourism.

Figures published by the Vancouver Economic Development Commission show that in 2001 there were nearly 5,500 businesses operating in the advanced technology industry, employing in the region of 46,000 people. Vancouver is one of only two cities in Canada designated an International Finance Centre and has a number of incentives for attracting international financial activity. All the major Canadian chartered banks have a presence in the city, which is also home to some 30 foreign banks, 15 international financial institutions and branch offices of the TSX Venture Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The tourist industry in Vancouver employs about 89,000 people on a seasonal and year-round basis and in 2001 the city played host to more than 8 million visitors.

Local Infrastructure:
Vancouver's transport infrastructure provides excellent connections to the rest of Canada and beyond. Vancouver International Airport is located just 15 kilometres from the centre of the city and operates direct flights to approximately 150 destinations throughout the world including Auckland, Beijing, London, Melbourne, New York, Singapore and Tokyo. In 2003, the airport handled just over 14 million passengers and 215,800 tonnes of cargo.

The Port of Vancouver is an important gateway for Asia-Pacific trade and is the largest deep-water harbour on the west coast of the Americas, covering over 230 kilometres of coastline. With 25 major marine terminals, the port is capable of dealing with a variety of cargo, containers and cruise ships. In 2002 the port handled nearly 63 million tonnes of traffic, 84.5 per cent of which was foreign exports, 10.5 per cent was foreign imports, while the rest was comprised of domestic traffic.

Vancouver is also the main western terminus of Canada's transcontinental railway and highway routes, which connect the city with many of the major urban and business centres in both Canada and the US.

Local Workforce:
The province of British Columbia has a large number of university and technical institutions such as the Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, the Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Together these institutions guarantee the region benefits from a large pool of well-educated and skilled workers. According to the Vancouver Economic Development Commission, nearly 19 per cent of British Columbia's total workforce has a university degree and approximately 4,500 students per year graduate in engineering and sciences from the provinces universities. Furthermore about 43 per cent of the workforce has other post-secondary education or vocational training.

Standard of Living:
The city's clean environment, temperate climate and numerous cultural and leisure facilities, combine to offer its residents an excellent quality of life. In fact, in the 2003 Quality of Life Survey produced by consultants William M. Mercer, Vancouver is ranked 2nd out of over 200 cities around the world.

The city benefits from an outstanding location close to both the mountains and the sea and is home to 180 parks including the 1,000 acre Stanley Park, which is filled with lush forest and beautiful lakes. Skiing and snowboarding are available at 3 nearby ski resorts, which can be reached from the city by road in less than 20 minutes and a 4th just 90 minutes away. In addition, the Pacific Spirit Park and Grouse Mountain offer hiking and mountain biking and there are plenty of opportunities for participating in a variety of other sports from sea kayaking and sailing to tennis and golf. Within the city there are a large variety of shops and restaurants, dozens of theatres and several museums and galleries such as the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Museum.

Business Costs:
Office occupancy costs in Vancouver are competitive when compared to other cities in Canada and the northern part of the United States. According to a report published in January 2002 by the real estate advisory company DTZ, office occupancy costs in Vancouver were 23.50 USD per square foot per annum, compared to costs of 18.60 USD, 20.00 USD and 27.30 USD in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto respectively. In the same report office occupancy costs in Chicago were calculated to be 39.40 USD per square foot per annum, while in Detroit they were 29.50 USD.