News Influencing Decision Makers in BC
Alex McMillan
Alex McMillan has accepted the role of Interim CEO for the BC Chamber of Commerce
Liz Penner is starting a new position as an Instructor and Course Creator at Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
Yuko Takemoto and Allan Nichols, the married co-owners of Ramen Arashi, are set to expand their successful ramen business with a new location in Langford, offering authentic Japanese ramen to more customers.
Wing Ng has been appointed as a Senior Marketing Specialist at Cushman & Wakefield.
Colin Kehoe has joined Colliers’ Development Advisory team in Vancouver as VP of Development.
Patricia Narbaitz has been appointed Director of Partnership Portfolio at BCI.
Chris Keane
Chris Keane has been appointed as the Managing Broker of Ashdown Capital Vancouver.
Erin Vance has been appointed as the Vice President of Sales at Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing.
Paul Hawes, President & CEO of BC Hotel Association, has been officially elected to the Board of Directors of the Hotel Association of Canada.
Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM) has appointed two new members to the National Board of Directors: Simar Miglani of CAE and Niloofar Moradi of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
Ultra Fasteners Inc., a leader in the manufacturing & distributing of high-quality fasteners and tamper proof security fasteners celebrates 5 years of ISO Certification.
Kinetic was selected to build the Lansdowne Student Housing Project at Camosun College.
Tammy Cox
MNP is pleased to announce three Partner promotions in the Thompson-Okanagan Region. MNP Partners & team members would like to congratulate Kubby Mann (Private Enterprise, Kamloops), Tammy Cox (Agriculture Services, Kamloops) and Daina McCloskey, Human Resources Consulting, Kelowna for their commitment to leadership and exceptional client service throughout the region. For more information contact Jennifer Hollis, Regional Managing Partner at 250-763-8919 or Jennifer.hollis@mnp.ca.
Canusa Wood, one of North America’s leading importers and distributors of hardwood plywood and specialty panel products, celebrates its 50th anniversary.
The City of Prince George has been shortlisted to host the 2030 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games, which are scheduled to inaugurate on July 10.
The BC Food and Beverage Growth Hub Accelerator Program is currently accepting applications. This comprehensive, three-year business development program is intended to assist you in the sustainable expansion of your revenue and the scaling of your manufacturing operations to $5 million. Applications will be accepted until August 3.
A proposal has been made by Telus Corp. to repurchase the entirety of Telus International (Cda) Inc. The company, which was separated off in 2021, is valued at approximately US$940 million.
Wai-Ke Kim
Wai-Ke Kim has been appointed as the new Head of Practice Management at Odlum Brown, an investment business based in Vancouver. Wai-Ke previously served as Vice President of Practice Management at Worldsource Wealth Management.
The Western Canada High Yield Mortgage Fund, which is supported by $35 million from Western Canadian real estate family offices and $35 million from the company’s current flagship fund, was announced by Cameron Stephens Mortgage Capital Ltd.
A casino situated in the Hastings Racecourse facility at Hastings Park in Vancouver may be acquired by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation through an agreement with Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.
Mariat Jibril, Executive MBA, has been recognized as one of BCBusiness Magazine’s 2025 Women of the Year.
The BC Cancer Foundation is supported by Orion Construction‘s Orion Building Futures initiative in connection with its work on the future BC Cancer Centre in Surrey.
The Vancouver City Council has now approved the construction of three towers on the property that is presently occupied by Safeway, located near the Commercial Drive-Broadway transit hub.
A new $750-million liquefied petroleum gas export facility in Prince Rupert has been approved by Trigon Pacific Terminals.
A deal has been reached between Keyera Corp. and AltaGas Ltd., which will allow Keyera to export twice as much liquefied petroleum gas through the West Coast export plant that AltaGas is building.
A 165-unit supportive housing project is being planned by BC Housing, Squamish Community Housing Society, and Squamish Helping Hands Society at 39900 Government Road and Centennial Way in Squamish.
Chris Callanan
Chris Callanan, Regional Manager of Employer Services at the North Island Employment Foundations Society (NIEFS), has been appointed as the new Chair of the Board of Directors for the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
The Province has begun their campaign into the U.S. for doctors, nurses and other health professionals with targeted marketing into California, Oregan and Washington and includes video, audio, digital, social media and print.
Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) is thrilled to join Destination British Columbia in announcing the launch of The Iconics Destination Brands, a comprehensive initiative aimed at enhancing the way British Columbia is presented globally.
4EVER Strategies has announced a strategic partnership with Destination Wayfinder, a global leader, to promote destination stewardship results in the Canadian travel and tourism industry.
Great Little Box Company Ltd‘s Driftwood Spirits Contact Gin label was awarded Bronze in the Best Use of Foil/Embossing- Label, Digitally printed category.
RE/MAX Canada has partnered with Pet Valu to launch the ‘Welcome Home Box,’ filled with essentials for pets to settle into their new home.
The Vancouver Aquatic Centre renovation project has been approved by the Vancouver city council, which has voted to give the park board an additional $22.5 million in funding. This brings the total cost of the controversial project to $175 million.
New DriveBC has a streamlined map and a cleaner, more intuitive desktop and mobile look. The old mobile text-based style has been replaced by an interactive map that makes road conditions and updates easier to understand.
The new North Wind Wellness Centre, situated at 5213 Hospital Rd. in Pouce Coupe, is a step closer to providing a culturally secure and holistic approach to addictions treatment and recovery, thereby assisting a greater number of individuals on their healing journeys. This facility is a significant development for the residents of northeastern British Columbia.
Provincial ministers Tamara Davidson, Minister of Environment and Parks, and Jagrup Brar, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, granted Teck Highland Valley Copper Partnership an environmental assessment certificate for the Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension (HVC) project near Logan Lake. Highland Valley copper mine will operate from 2028 to 2043 under the HVC project.
Northstar Clean Technologies has successfully secured a fifteen-year lease at its existing Delta, British Columbia location, Empower Delta Facility. This paves the way to retro-fit the existing pilot facility at this location to a full-scale commercial facility. The site currently holds all necessary regulatory approvals and permits for light industrial operations, offering a future expansion opportunity with reduced timelines and costs associated with permitting and site development.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (Nasdaq: COST) reported net sales of $20.97 billion for the retail month of May, the four weeks ended June 1, 2025, an increase of 6.8 percent from $19.64 billion last year. Net sales for the first 39 weeks were $201.02 billion, an increase of 8.0 percent from $186.07 billion last year.
Kirmac Collision & Autoglass has acquired Bannister Automotive Group’s collision centers in Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, and Chilliwack. This acquisition expands Kirmac’s increases its total operations to 27 locations across its brands: Kirmac Collision & Autoglass, Reborn Autobody, and Fleet Street Commercial Vehicle Repairs.
According to InvolvencyInsider.ca, “Oak and Fort Corp. et al. (the “O&F Group”), a Vancouver, BC-based retailer which operates 42 stores (26 in Canada and 16 in the US), had its NOI proceedings continued under the CCAA on June 6. The companies have secured debt of approximately $3.19 million and unsecured debt of approximately $17.35 million with their Canadian entities and unsecured debt of approximately $4.59 million with their US entities. Beginning in 2021, the O&F Group pursued aggressive brick-and-mortar growth. Following those growth efforts, the O&F Group’s revenues grew both in Canada and in the US, but not to the extent anticipated. Further, recent market conditions (including increased interest rates, inflationary pressures, and impacts and uncertainty arising from the recent US tariff regime) have caused costs relative to revenue to increase sharply while simultaneously depressing consumer demand. While theO&F Group has attempted to mitigate losses through inventory reductions and various cost-cutting measures, these efforts accelerated revenue decline and margin erosion. The companies are in arrears with virtually all of their landlords and suppliers and filed NOIs on an urgent basis on June 2 and 3 after several landlords threatened enforcement action. The principal purpose of the insolvency proceedings is to create a stabilized environment to provide O&F with the breathing room necessary to negotiate a DIP facility, and to fund a comprehensive restructuring of the business with a view to emerging as a going-concern. KSV is the monitor and Reflect Advisors is the CRO. Counsel is Fasken for theO&F Group, Bennett Jones for the monitor, Kornfeld for BDC, MCM Law for RBC, Torys for Cadillac.”
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