Thursday, November 8th the City of Penticton hosted an economic outlook forum called, FutureBiz Penticton. A local panel represented by: Anthony Haddad, Director of Development Services, City of Penticton. Jennifer Vincent, Economic Development Specialist, City of Penticton and Jonathan Baynes, CEO of Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation.
Jonathan's presentation on PIB Adventure Park Plan was of particular interest to me as Area F's Director-elect. I think the community of West Bench and the PIB may have a shared interest in a well-kept KVR trail. Imagine if the Adventure Park could attract visitors from Summerland (and beyond) to come down - on bike.
There were three keynote speakers. Nikolas Badminton, a futurists, trends and innovative speaker. Pierre Cleroux, the VP Research and Chief Economist Business Development Bank of Canada who spoke on challenges and opportunities ahead for Canadian business. Finally, Andrew Ramlo VP of Market Intelligence, Rennie Group. It was a very interesting afternoon.
Key take aways for me:
From Nikolas Badminton - data is the most valuable commodity. As our population reaches 9 billion in 2050, food production must increase by 60%. He predicts self-driving cars in Penticton within 5 years and AI (artificial intelligence) is the next big thing.
Pierre Cleroux - predicts solid but slowing growth. Not a recession because there isn't a shock to come (like a housing bubble or high interest rates) and debt/income is low(ish). With BC's unemployment at 4.8%, our economy is operating at full capacity. So, mainly good news. Ramlo told us that by 2035, there will be more deaths than births in Canada. Ramlo and Cleroux shared the same forecast that by 2030/2035 we will have 0% growth in our working population meaning that more people will leave the workforce than enter it. This will be a significant challenge for businesses looking to hire staff.
Overall a great event that I would recommend and attend again.
I also met again with Director Brydon who has been exceptionally generous with his time and knowledge.
Thanks for reading and as always, if you have any questions or comments to share - please do!
Cheers,
Riley
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