Locating in Victoria > Business Sector Profiles

Victoria's business community has a unique blend of traditional industry mixed with advanced technology, tourism and arts and culture. For an overview of our five major sectors, please click here:

• Advanced Technology
• Film Production
• Marine Industry
• Research & Development
• Tourism

Advanced Technology
The advanced technology sector is the third largest employer in Greater Victoria and the City's fastest growing sector, growing at 15 per cent per year. Greater Victoria is second only to Vancouver in the number of advanced technology companies. There are over 1000 advanced technology businesses on Vancouver Island generating over one billion dollars in gross revenue and employing 15,000 people in the private sector. The average company size is 10 employees.

The growth of the region's advanced technology sector is attributed to the presence of three post secondary institutions, five federal research and development institutes, an entrepreneurial attitude, attractive government research and development funding programs and a skilled workforce.

For current information on local advanced technology companies, employment opportunities, access to capital, business and networking opportunities, and market research contact the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre.

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Film Production
The film industry in BC has experienced tremendous growth over the past 20 years, leading to the development of a broad and mature base of support and services, consisting of skilled professionals, crews and companies dedicated to the industry. Just 35 minutes by air from Vancouver and 1 hr 35 minutes by ferry, Greater Victoria is now ready to take its evolution in the film industry one step further and become one of British Columbia's major provincial players.

The film industry generated over $23.5 million in Greater Victoria in 2004 according to the Greater Victoria Film Commission. The film industry on Vancouver Island has grown from approximately $500,000 in 1995 to an estimated $27 million in 2004.

Formed as a non-profit organization in September 1996, the Greater Victoria Film Commission has focused on developing the infrastructure required to provide necessary services and talent to the international film and television industry. The Commission now offers a full range of services for film producers and companies interested in using Greater Victoria as a location, as well as a complete "what's happening locally" listing on their website.

For information on what's happening locally, any local filming scheduled for Victoria is noted on the film commission website: www.filmvictoria.com

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Marine Industry
Victoria has a strong maritime history which traditionally has focused on maintaining commercial fishing fleets and servicing the Pacific Canadian Navy Fleet. In addition to maintaining these more traditional customers the shipyards are now servicing many of the cruise ships that dock in Victoria. The shipbuilding industry in Victoria also contracts for major refits of cruise ships. Victoria has two major shipyards located close to downtown, both of which undertake ship repair and refitting.

Growing marine industries include yacht construction and small craft manufacturing (kayaks and canoes). Both these industries are expanding rapidly and have customers locally and internationally.

Complementing the manufacturing of ships and small craft vessels is the development of marine technology and research. There are several local companies that have received international recognition for marine technologies they have developed and the University of Victoria has established itself as a leading institution in oceanography research.

The University is a key partner in the VENUS Project (Victoria Experimental Network Under Sea). VENUS is a proposed network of instruments in the ocean to observe the sea floor waters off our coast. Measurements, images and sound will be delivered to scientists, managers, the public and an archive via fibre-optic cables laid from three landfall sites. That cable will also deliver power for instruments, lights and robots. For the first time, we will not have to wait for data from recovered instruments - it will be delivered immediately as events in the ocean unfold.

VENUS is intimately related to the larger NEPTUNE observatory that proposes to extend a fiber optic cable into deep water off the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, on the Juan de Fuca Plate. This significant project will be a collaborative effort headed by Canada NEPTUNE and US NEPTUNE.

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Research & Development
Victoria is home to five major Federal Research Institutes these include:

Centre for Plant Health
The Centre for Plant Health (CPH) is in the Laboratories Directorate of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and acts as an important mechanism for the safe introduction of foreign plant material into Canada.

Canadian Forest Service - Pacific Forestry Centre
The Canadian Forest Service (CFS) is a sector of Natural Resources Canada, with headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario. A major role of the CFS is Science and Technology (S&T), which is being delivered by five decentralized laboratories through 10 National Research Networks. The primary focus of the S&T program is on longer term, strategic, national research that underpins the sustainable development of Canada's forest resources.

Recognized worldwide for excellence in science and technology, the Pacific Forestry Centre is one of five Canadian Forest Service research and development centres committed to the sustainable development and competitiveness of the Canadian forest sector. The Pacific Forestry Centre provides essential forest research to secure the social, economic and environmental value of the forest for future generations.

Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics
The Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, a division of the National Research Council, is based in Victoria. One of the Institute's responsibilities is the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Little Saanich Mountain. Scientific research in astrophysics is conducted by the Institute, with emphasis on solar-system bodies, stars, star formation, interstellar gas and dust, stellar populations in galaxies, active galaxies and observational cosmology.

Institute of Ocean Science/Pacific Geoscience Institute
The Institute of Ocean Sciences (IOS) is operated by the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It shares the site with Geological Survey of Canada (Pacific). Marine scientists located at IOS provide the scientific basis for oceans and marine resource management, including safe navigation and marine operations, the physical and chemical aspects of fisheries and coastal zone management, and the role of the oceans in climate change. IOS scientists frequently work with scientists from other laboratories and countries, and participate in far-reaching international experiments.

Dockyard Laboratory
The Dockyard Laboratory (Pacific) is located within CFB Esquimalt. It is the West Coast component of the Halifax-based Defence Research Establishment Atlantic. DL(P)'s main areas of expertise are metallurgy, marine structural steels, composites technology and manufacturing, corrosion and cathodic protection, coatings, polymers and environmentally compliant materials. The Laboratory has approximately 15 scientists and technologists engaged both in solving the day-to-day problems of the Canadian Pacific Fleet, and carrying out research into new materials and processes for marine applications.

In addition to the Federal research institutes the University of Victoria has strong research, development and innovation programs.

Additional information on the research and development sector in Victoria can be obtained from the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre..

Tourism
The tourism sector is an important part of Victoria's economy accounting for an estimated 33,500 jobs in our labour market.

Tourism Victoria reported tourism revenues for Victoria reached $1.7 billion in 2003, up 4 per cent from last year with almost 30% of total tourist dollars spent in approximately 615 restaurants in the region.

Victoria experienced a record 139 cruise ships visiting in 2004 compared to 77 in 2001. Some of the major cruise lines have scheduled Victoria as a port of call as the cruise ship industry increases sailings on the Alaska/BC run. A total of 250,000 passengers and 110,000 crew were here from April to October. Based on estimates of passengers typically spending about $150 US per person and crew members $50 each, these travelers spent some $30 million dollars in Victoria.

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