Vancouver, BC - The BC Progress Board released its 2007 Interim Benchmarking Report, reporting recent progress on indicators relevant to the province's economic, innovation, education, environment, health and social condition. This year's interim report includes a special companion discussion paper outlining some strategic considerations for BC's future. The Progress Board is now in its seventh annual reporting cycle, and tables its annual benchmarking report in December of each year.

British Columbia's rate of economic growth (real GDP) per capita placed 5^th in Canada in 2006. After-tax income remained in 3^rd place in 2006, while the Board's jobs measure - the employment rate (ages 15-64) - remained in 5^th place in 2006, unchanged from the previous year. BC continues to rank in 1^st place on the Board's environmental quality index (2001-2004), 1^st on the health outcomes index, and 9^th on the social condition index. In its first annual benchmarking report, the Progress Board established a goal for the province to place 1^st or 2^nd on each of these core targets by 2010.

"BC's economy continues to be on a roll", noted Gerry Martin, Acting Chair of the BC Progress Board. "Preliminary data for 2006 demonstrate that British Columbians experienced considerable income growth and a record employment rate", Martin continued. "Importantly, the province continues to place ahead of the national average on the rate of per capita economic growth, and provincial income growth is closing in on the national average for the first time in a decade", Martin stated.

The Progress Board also released a companion discussion paper entitled "Strategic Considerations for BC's Future", a document building on benchmarking work to date and designed to highlight some of the key issues and trends likely to affect BC's economic, innovation, education, environment, health and social performance in the near-term and well into the next decade beyond 2010. Selected findings include:

• BC's population will continue to age, with the median age rising to 46.2 years by 2031 from 39.8 in 2006. By 2031 those aged 65+ will increase to 24.2 percent of the population in 2031 from 14.0 percent in 2006.
  

• BC's population growth will be concentrated in areas of the province that are already relatively dense: Greater Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Fraser Valley, Cowichan Valley and Central Okanagan.
  

• BC's economy will likely continue to be strong for the next five years, with real GDP growing above the national average, while the unemployment rate will remain under 5 percent, or basically at full employment.
  

• Competitive economies of the next few decades will be underpinned to a considerable extent by "City States" in many instances. This implies that the Lower Mainland will need to cooperate much more closely to increase regional competitiveness.
  

• Skilled worker shortages will persist well into the next decade as the labour market ages and the baby boom generation reaches retirement age.
  

• Climate change is likely to persist as a critical provincial, national and global issue which will result in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the short to medium term. It is imperative that British Columbia does so in a measured, balanced and economically sensitive fashion.
  

• As population growth in urban and regional British Columbia continues, water quality and quantity will increasingly be an issue.
  

• Health care and costs will continue to be critical issues for BC and other provinces in the coming decade. The question of sustainability of the system driven by population ageing, escalating technology costs, together with increased utilization of services underscores the need for prevention, healthy living and other individual efforts to reduce system costs and improve health outcomes.
  

• As a small, open, jurisdiction, BC must prepare for and to the greatest extent possible guard against pandemic and infectious diseases. The potential for economic and social disruption is significant, given an increasingly globally oriented economy and society.

"The Progress Board has outlined some strategic considerations for policy makers and individual citizens", noted Gerry Martin. "Moving ahead, maintaining and building on progress to date will require continuous identification of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats recognizing that BC is small, open jurisdiction vulnerable to external factors", Martin continued. "Now is the time for BC to consolidate gains made over the past number of years, while re-doubling efforts to mitigate future risk and to boost areas of under-performance relative to other competing jurisdictions", Martin concluded.

Media Contact:

Mr. Mark Shuparski Call Melisa Bahtanovic, Administrative Coordinator 604-775-1664