Economy of Vancouver

[1] The British Columbian city is Canada's official gateway to the Pacific Rim, a major port, and the main western terminus of transcontinental highway and rail routes.

[6] Vancouver's central area has 60% of the region's office space and is home to headquarters of forest products and mining companies as well as branches of national and international banks, accounting and law firms.

Around 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) of industrial land provide an important range of support services, manufacturing and wholesale premises for businesses throughout the city and region.

This is due to multiple factors, including being close to and in the same time zone as Los Angeles, tax credits provided by the BC government, and a record of handling major Hollywood productions well.

Foreign technology companies which have organically grown an operational presence in Vancouver include Netgear, Samsung, IBM, Microsoft, Sage, and Amazon.

Additionally, Vancouver is emerging as a world leader in fuel cell technology, accounting for 70 percent of Canadians employed in the industry.

The National Research Council Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation is located in Vancouver, and the headquarters of Ballard Power Systems is in neighboring Burnaby.

Vancouver's numerous beaches, parks, waterfronts, and mountain backdrops, combined with its cultural and multi-ethnic character, all contribute to its unique appeal and style.

The Big Five Canadian banks also have modest regional operations located in Vancouver, although they occupy only a portion of the space in the downtown buildings they lease the right to have their logos on.

Vancouver has the closest North American air-link to Pacific Rim cities, with daily non-stop flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Busan, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila and Sydney.

Vancouver is also served by the Abbotsford International Airport, fast becoming a reliever to YVR convenient for the eastern suburbs and transborder United States.

CMHC says those imbalances can occur when overbuilding, overvaluation, overheating and price acceleration, or combinations of those factors, move away from historical averages.