Each month, Initiatives Prince George distributes a newsletter called 'On the Move' that connects people with news about economic activity in Prince George and the surrounding region, as well as with information about events and services that are of value to local and regional business owners. During 2014, a 'New Business of the Month' will be highlighted in each newsletter. If you have an idea for an upcoming newsletter, please submit it to info@initiativespg.com for consideration.

New and established businesses are leading the way to entrenching Prince George’s downtown as the city’s cultural hub. One of the most recent additions to this effort is Page Boy Books, a second hand bookstore located at 1242 4th Avenue, between Dominion and Quebec Streets.

The store’s owner, Peter Kellett, fulfilled a long-time dream of opening his own bookstore in Prince George in October 2013. He had been eyeing his store’s location for some time. “I wanted to be on 4th Avenue, and kept coming back to this place. There are a lot of great businesses on the block, it is very central with lots of pedestrian activity,” he notes. Indeed, the bookstore fits nicely into the street’s retail environment, which is dominated by artisan boutiques, clothes stores, and craft shops. Peter says all of the stores complement each other and are “great neighbours who are very supportive of [his] business.”

Peter happily says that his store attracts a wide variety of people: “I get pretty much every demographic in here, every age and income level.” He has enjoyed the patronage of Prince George’s strong book enthusiast community as well, which includes many collectors.  “I am surprised by how many people claim to have more books than I do,” he jokes.

In the lead up to the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and in the context of the massive natural resource investment being seen in Northern BC, Peter believes in the future of the city’s downtown. He argues that downtown Prince George “is a strong community of independent business people [who are] trying to improve the downtown at a grassroots level.” He notes that certain local restaurants and retail outlets are leading the charge in this regard. 

Certainly, the hope is that these types of businesses encourage people not only to work, but also to live and play in the downtown. Within walking distance of Peter’s store, one can also peruse boutiques, grab a coffee, listen to live music, see an art exhibition, and sit down for a locally-sourced dinner or made in BC craft beer. Undoubtedly, these experiences help to make Prince George a culturally vibrant city.

A number of Prince George based service providers are coming together on February 5, 2014 to raise awareness about programs and funding available to local and regional businesses. The “Accessing Business Services in Prince George” event will provide information about numerous services, including marketing assistance, competitive consulting rebates, small business loans and training workshops.

The following organizations will give presentations during the event:

• Aboriginal Business and Community Development Centre
• Community Futures Fraser Fort George
• Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society of Prince George
• Initiatives Prince George
• Innovation Central Society
• National Research Council-Industrial Research Assistance Program
• Northern Development Initiative Trust
• Prince George Chamber of Commerce

The event is free to attend, but registration is required as space is limited. For more information or to register, visit http://www.initiativespg.com/about_IPG/events.php.

Did you miss this event? Watch the following video for highlights: http://ow.ly/tarfr.

Over 150 representatives of local and regional businesses packed a room at the Coast Inn of the North for the 2nd annual Market Expansion Forum hosted by Initiatives Prince George (IPG) on January 21, 2104, with an additional 70 people registering separately for the Forum luncheon. The sold-out event gave business owners the chance to connect directly with procurement representatives of resource and resource-related projects underway in Northern British Columbia who were in the city for the Premier’s BC Natural Resources Forum.

“We are thrilled with the response from local and regional businesses and hope that attendees walked away from the Market Expansion Forum with valuable information about the procurement processes and schedules of major companies that are investing in Northern BC,” says Heather Oland, Chief Executive Officer of IPG. “The $23 billion worth of projects already underway in the region and the $140 billion in planned projects represent an enormous opportunity for local and regional businesses.”

Major companies investing in Northern BC outlined their project’s procurement processes, schedules and opportunities to the Prince George and regional supply chain during two industry sessions that ran concurrently throughout the day. Presenters included representatives of TransCanada, Apache/Chevron, Enbridge, Spectra Energy, Walter Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, New Gold, Taseko, Pretium Resources Inc. and BC Hydro. The keynote address was given by the Honourable Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. The Forum was followed by a networking session that gave businesses the chance to connect with proponents of major projects.

 

The Prince George Civic Centre was packed with exhibitors and attendees for the Premier’s BC Natural Resource Forum on January 22 and 23, 2014. The Forum highlighted the opportunities associated with the billions of dollars of natural resource projects proposed or underway in Northern British Columbia, demonstrating the magnitude of economic growth in Prince George and the surrounding region. Initiatives Prince George (IPG) attended this Forum to provide information about the local economy through presentations and directly to attendees at IPG’s booth.

Hoban Construction Ltd. (HCL) opened a new Northern Operations office in Prince George in late 2013 to better meet the needs of a growing list of clients in Northern British Columbia. The new location includes a state of the art shop and facility that will help HCL reduce equipment downtime and decrease the amount of time it takes to mobilize projects in Western Canada. HCL project support staff, estimators, surveyors, quality control and project management will work out of the new office. HCL recently completed upgrades to the Cariboo Connector from Highway 97 at Sintich Road to the Old Cariboo Highway south of Prince George. HCL has been serving the heavy construction industry since 1966. For more information about HCL, stop by the new Prince George office located at 9064 Milwaukee Way, call 250.277.6994 or visit http://www.hobangroup.com.

Attending meetings in Calgary just got a little easier for residents of Northern British Columbia with WestJet’s launch of same day service between Prince George and the southern Alberta city.

WestJet will start operating a daily flight out of the Prince George Airport (YXS) on April 27, 2014. Business travelers will be able to leave the city on a 119 seat Boeing 737-600 jet at 6:00am and return at 10:27pm. The 1.5 hour flight will also give business and leisure travellers more connection options out of the Calgary International Airport to eastern Canada, the USA and sunspot destinations, including Toronto, Ottawa, Saskatoon, New York, Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

The WestJet flight is the second non-stop flight to Calgary announced for the Prince George Airport in the past year. Central Mountain Air (CMA) began offering same-day air passenger service between Prince George and Calgary on June 3, 2013. The combination of the CMA and WestJet flights provides options for the amount of time business travellers spend in Calgary; passengers can fly out of Prince George on the WestJet flight early in the morning and return on the CMA flight in the late afternoon or on the WestJet flight in the evening.

These two flights are geared toward serving the Prince George and Calgary markets separately; the WestJet flight favours the Prince George market by allowing locals to do same day business in Calgary, while the CMA flight offers the same convenience for Calgarians doing business in Prince George.

The confidence of WestJet and CMA in the Prince George market is indicative of the continual growth of the Prince George and regional economy, which has contributed to steady increases in business and leisure passenger numbers over the past several years.

Discover everything you need to know about living, working and investing in Prince George on the new Initiatives Prince George website. Visit www.initiativespg.com to check out the website’s new streamlined look and enhanced user friendliness. The website is also mobile technology friendly so that you can browse it from your smartphone or tablet.

Initiatives Prince George's monthly 'Economic Update' provides a brief summary of economic performance in the City of Prince George. Each 'Economic Update' also features an article about a specific issue related to the Prince George economy.