P.G. Has Competitive Advantage

By Submitted Article

-by Clint Dahl

"This month, Clint Dahl, Chair of Initiatives Prince George, offers a guest commentary on the many advantages of Prince George as a location for businesses in the knowledge economy. Clint was the co‐founder of a highly successful local software company and is a proud supporter of Prince George and all that it has to offer. Our thanks to him for contributing to this issue."  -Tim McEwan

Tim McEwan has spoken often about our organization’s goal to build Prince George as a knowledge‐based, resource economy connected to the world.

Our city and region have been greatly enhanced by two decades of growth and diversification which have made Prince George a preferred place to invest, work, and live. This is especially the case for businesses engaged in technology or technology‐related fields.

Our small professional staff is hard‐at‐work getting the word out that Prince George, BC, Canada, is the most cost‐competitive location of 13 surveyed in the Pacific Northwest US/Canada category on 26 location-sensitive cost factors examined in KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives Study released earlier this year. Quietly, yet deliberately, Prince George has set itself up for success.

As a host for manufacturing, corporate & information technology, and research & development services, Prince George is in an outstanding position, relative to the US Index Rating (US=100) (refer to the table shown). But we have to get the word out!

 Prince George’s continued position as a preferred location for back office/call centres, for example, is evident in the recent announcement by Terasen Gas that will see 100 plus new jobs at their new call centre in downtown Prince George. In making the announcement, Terasen officials remarked that cost of living factors, low business location costs, and knowledge workers from the University of Northern British Columbia and the College of New Caledonia were among key decision factors.

At the same time, for Telus Corp., Prince George also made bottom line sense in their recent expansion which nearly doubled their call centre operations here. From their perspective, Prince George boasts an amazing fibre optic network linking our city to the world, building and general business costs are lower in Prince George than major urban centres, employee engagement is higher, and staff turnover is lower.

With the consolidation of northern health administration into the Northern Health Authority almost ten years ago, the advent of the Northern Medical Program, the building of the Northern Cancer Care Centre, and the transformation of our regional hospital into the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, Prince George is also in a great position to attract medical device manufacturing and research & development activity in health‐related areas, where KPMG’s study suggests we also have a competitive edge.

As a smaller urban centre of 80,000, Prince George also offers many partnership opportunities and collaborative working relationships with resource based companies, UNBC, Northern Health, and other organizations. In addition, a recent study by the BC Northern Real Estate Board shows that while homeownership in BC’s Lower Mainland consumes on average 69 percent of pre‐tax income, the figure is a mere 30.4 percent for Prince George. And as a city with full‐urban amenities, a terrific work‐life balance, and great community spirit, it is an outstanding place to raise a family.

Prince George is poised for tremendous growth. For those investors looking for the next great play in knowledge based industries, bank on Prince George. Go North, young (wo)man!

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