Local business operators gathered on Tuesday at the Delta Grand to hear from Bruce Anderson, a political columnist and a Canadian with his finger on the pulse of business, both in B.C. and globally.

More than 150 people listened to the keynote, where Anderson essentially said that business in B.C. was looking good and expects to stay that way in the near future.

Anderson drew his online study with Abacus Data, where 877 British Columbian business operators provided answers to questions around business satisfaction and factors impacting growth.

According to the poll, 44% of the participants said their business is in acceptable shape – right in the middle of, "good" and "poor."

When it came to growth goals, 82% want their business to grow cautiously over the next several years – again, in the middle of "stay the same" and "grow very significantly."

Areas impacting growth were also identified.

Photo Credit: Abacus Data

Healthcare, the cost of getting goods to market and the US economy were among some of the top reasons for losing sleep at night as a business owner.

According to Anderson, this hesitancy with the US economy revealed that British Columbians are more eager to do business elsewhere – on an international scale. 

In fact, 82% of British Columbians are on board with appealing to foreign companies for business, an enthusiasm that Anderson said didn't exist 10 to 15 years ago.

Anderson's keynote was then followed by a panel discussion.

The panel discussion was moderated by Dan Rogers, Executive Director of the Kelowna Chamber who hosted four deputy ministers and discussed the findings of the pulse check on the B.C. economy.

The panel included the following ministers:

• Bindi Sawchuk: Assistant Deputy Minister for Labour Markets and Information with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills & Training.
• Scott MacDonald: Deputy Minister of Education.
• Trevor Hughes: Deputy Minister of Labour.
• Tara Faganello: Assistant Deputy Minister for Local Governance with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing. 

Attendees also had an opportunity to ask questions in real-time using the digital tool, Pidgeonhole Live.

For more information on the BC Chamber, visit the website.

Additional information on the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce can be found here.