A NextStars Research Report | December 2025
British Columbia stands at a pivotal moment. The province that built its reputation on natural resources, film production, and technology innovation is now emerging as Canada’s gateway to Asian markets and a global leader in cleantech, life sciences, and critical minerals.
The June 2025 departure of the first LNG cargo from Kitimat marked more than a shipping milestone. It represented the culmination of $40 billion in private investment and the birth of an entirely new Canadian export industry. For international entrepreneurs, BC offers something increasingly rare: a diversified economy with deep ties to Asia, abundant clean energy, and a startup ecosystem producing more unicorns than anywhere else in Canada.
This report examines investment flows into British Columbia, sectoral opportunities, regional advantages, and strategic considerations for founders evaluating market entry.
Provincial Investment Performance
British Columbia captured 37% of Canada’s Indo Pacific foreign direct investment in 2024, totaling C$7.1 billion and leading all provinces. This surge was driven primarily by critical minerals mining investments, reflecting global demand for energy transition metals where BC holds significant reserves.
The province has attracted record capital investment, growing 107.9% since 2017 compared to the national average of 62%, Ontario’s 83.1%, and Alberta’s 31%. More than 1,000 major projects are currently under construction across BC.
Vancouver consistently ranks among North America’s top destinations for foreign investment, with Startup Genome placing the city’s tech ecosystem at #39 globally with ecosystem value growth of 22.1% in 2025. The metropolitan area has produced more billion dollar unicorn companies in recent years than anywhere else in Canada.
BC’s trade profile provides a structural advantage in the current environment of US tariff uncertainty. Only 53% of BC exports went to the United States in 2024, compared to 77% Canada wide. BC accounted for just 5.4% of Canada’s total US exports, making the province significantly less exposed to American trade policy shifts than other regions.
LNG Canada: Launching a New Industry
The $40 billion LNG Canada project represents the largest single private sector investment in Canadian history. Located in Kitimat on the traditional territory of the Haisla Nation, the facility shipped its first commercial cargo in June 2025 and had exported more than 25 cargoes by late 2025 with both processing trains now operational.
Project Economics and Structure
The consortium includes Shell (40% lead partner), Petronas of Malaysia (25%), PetroChina (15%), Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan (15%), and Korea Gas Corporation (5%). Phase 1 capacity stands at 14 million tonnes per annum, enough to supply approximately 1.84 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily to Asian markets.
The Coastal GasLink pipeline, a 670 kilometer infrastructure project connecting the Dawson Creek production region to the Kitimat facility, was completed in 2024. Each LNG tanker departing Kitimat represents approximately US$150 million in export revenue.
Environmental Performance
LNG Canada’s greenhouse gas intensity runs approximately 60% below the global average for LNG facilities, positioning it among the lowest emission operations worldwide. The combination of efficient natural gas turbines and BC Hydro’s renewable electricity enables this performance.
Phase 2 Expansion
The federal government designated LNG Canada Phase 2 as a national priority project in September 2025. This expansion would double capacity to 28 million tonnes annually, making the combined facility the second largest of its kind globally. Phase 2 would require approximately 700 megawatts of clean electricity, roughly half the output of the newly operational Site C dam.
Broader LNG Pipeline
BC’s LNG sector extends beyond the Kitimat facility:
Woodfibre LNG near Squamish targets operations by 2027 with 2.1 million tonnes annual capacity. Cedar LNG, a floating facility also in Kitimat, announced a positive final investment decision in June 2024 with late 2028 target operations and 3 million tonnes capacity. Ksi Lisims LNG at Pearse Island is undergoing environmental assessment with potential 12 million tonnes capacity and 2029 operational target.
Natural gas royalties paid to BC are forecast to reach $1.43 billion by 2027, up from $169 million in fiscal 2012/2013. Direct benefits to government over LNG Canada’s project life will reach $23 billion by provincial estimates.
Technology Sector: Canada’s Cleantech Capital
British Columbia hosts one of North America’s fastest growing technology ecosystems. More than 12,000 tech companies operate in the province, employing nearly 200,000 workers and contributing $27 billion to provincial GDP.
Vancouver’s Global Position
Vancouver ranks first in Canada for tech talent concentration according to CBRE’s 2024 analysis, with the ecosystem producing the fastest growth rate in North America at 69% increase in tech occupations over five years. The city is home to Canada’s fastest growing life sciences sector and the world’s second largest virtual and augmented reality cluster.
Startup Genome ranked Vancouver’s ecosystem at #30 globally in 2023, highlighting strengths in cleantech, AI, and life sciences. The city attracted over $2.1 billion in venture funding in 2024.
Unicorn Production
BC has generated multiple billion dollar companies including Dapper Labs (blockchain/NFTs), Trulioo (identity verification), Visier (people analytics), and AbCellera (biotechnology). Nexii Building Solutions reached unicorn status in under 31 months in 2021 using breakthrough sustainable building materials.
Cleantech Leadership
Foresight Canada, headquartered in Vancouver, operates as a national cleantech accelerator helping founders commercialize climate innovations. The province’s cleantech companies specialize in fuel cell solutions, power electronics, waste treatment technologies, and renewable energy systems.
Climate tech leads Vancouver’s venture activity, followed by SaaS, Web3, biotech, and gaming. The city’s research density through UBC’s life sciences labs, Creative Destruction Lab’s applied AI programs, and Foresight’s cleantech pipeline feeds directly into the venture ecosystem.
Major Tech Employers
Global technology companies with significant BC operations include Microsoft, Slack (founded in Vancouver before relocating headquarters), Hootsuite, Intel, Samsung, and Salesforce. The province’s proximity to Silicon Valley and Seattle provides startups with access to US investors and customers while maintaining Canadian cost advantages.
Film and Television: Hollywood North’s Competitive Reset
British Columbia operates one of North America’s largest motion picture production centers, though the sector faced significant challenges in 2023 and 2024 from Hollywood strikes and global production declines.
Industry Scale
The film and television sector generated $2.7 billion in GDP in 2022, falling to $2 billion in 2023 due to strike disruptions. The industry typically supports more than 47,500 jobs and accounts for approximately 1% of provincial GDP.
Foreign service work comprises roughly 80% of total production spending in BC. In 2022, Motion Picture Association Canada members including Disney, Paramount, Sony, NBC Universal, Warner Bros, and Netflix spent $1.7 billion on local production related goods and services.
New Incentive Structure
The provincial government significantly enhanced tax credits effective January 1, 2025 to reclaim competitive positioning:
The Production Services Tax Credit for foreign projects increased from 28% to 36%. The Film Incentive BC for Canadian content productions increased from 35% to 36%. Blockbuster productions with BC costs exceeding $200 million receive an additional 2% bonus. Regional and distant location tax credits were restored for companies with physical presence outside Metro Vancouver.
In fiscal 2023/24, BC provided $909 million in film and television tax credits.
Infrastructure Expansion
Bridge Studios completed its Lake City Studios campus in 2025, creating the largest production facility in Canada with 21 purpose built soundstages. The facility sits adjacent to SkyTrain Lake City Way Station near Burnaby Mountain.
Recovery Outlook
Industry projections suggest film and television could contribute over $4 billion to BC’s economy by end of 2025, potentially exceeding pre pandemic levels. The enhanced incentive structure combined with favorable Canadian dollar exchange rates positions BC to attract major Hollywood productions seeking cost efficiency.
Mining and Critical Minerals: A Generational Opportunity
British Columbia is Canada’s largest copper producer and only molybdenum producer, with high potential to produce over half of Canada’s identified critical minerals. The province hosts 18 operating mines with 27 mine and mine extension projects in late stage permitting.
Revenue and Production
Mining operations generated $13.9 billion in revenue in 2024, down from $15.8 billion in 2023 primarily due to metallurgical coal price declines. Coal remains the largest revenue contributor at 52%, with 95% of that production serving steelmaking markets.
Copper output rose 13% to 316,487 tonnes in 2024. Gold production increased marginally from 2023’s 603,700 ounces as revenue jumped 34% on surging gold prices.
Critical minerals investment continues expanding, with funding to the sector rising 110% in 2024 from $24 million to $49 million.
Major Development Projects
The Mining Association of BC estimates 16 proposed critical mineral mines could provide $36 billion in near term investment, generating a combined $403 billion in revenue over their operating lives and $183.8 billion in labour income.
Key projects include:
Eskay Creek operated by Skeena Resources represents one of the world’s highest grade open pit gold projects with substantial silver, antimony, copper, zinc, and lead reserves. Located in Tahltan Territory, the project achieved a historic consent based decision making agreement with the Tahltan Nation in 2022, potentially becoming the first mining project authorized by an Indigenous government for its Environmental Certificate.
Blackwater Gold operated by Artemis Gold started commercial production in May 2025 and is expected to produce more than 300,000 ounces annually over its first five years, making it one of Canada’s largest new gold mines.
Highland Valley Copper expansion by Teck Resources with construction starting August 2025 will extend Canada’s largest copper mine’s productive life by another two decades.
Golden Triangle Infrastructure
The provincial and federal governments committed a combined C$265 million in 2024 to improve transportation and clean energy infrastructure in BC’s mineral rich Golden Triangle region. Upgrades to Highways 37, 37a, and 51 will support increased mining activity while the Northwest Transmission Line extension will deliver affordable hydroelectricity to support future mines producing cobalt, copper, molybdenum, nickel, platinum group metals, tungsten, and zinc.
Life Sciences: Building Canadian Biomanufacturing
British Columbia’s life sciences sector encompasses more than 2,000 companies employing close to 20,000 people. The province played an outsized role in COVID 19 response, with nearly every vaccine candidate that reached late stage development using components initiated, developed, or manufactured by BC companies or scientists.
AbCellera: Anchor Institution
AbCellera Biologics emerged from University of British Columbia research to become a global biotechnology leader. In 2023, the company announced a $701 million co investment project with federal ($225 million) and provincial ($75 million) government support, representing the largest single private investment in a life sciences project in BC history.
The project includes a state of the art biotech campus with new preclinical development facilities and upgrades to existing facilities in Vancouver. AbCellera is initiating up to 17 drug development programs with initial focus on cancer and immune diseases, conducting multiple Phase 1 clinical trials in BC and across Canada, and creating over 400 full time positions.
AbCellera’s 380,000 square foot Mount Pleasant campus anchors a growing innovation district that also hosts Zymeworks and Aspect Biosystems. A separate clinical grade manufacturing facility for antibody therapies represents a first of its kind capability in Canada.
Aspect Biosystems
In 2024, BC and federal governments directed a combined $72.75 million toward Aspect Biosystems’ $200 million project to establish a world leading clinical biomanufacturing facility. The company’s platform uses artificial intelligence for bioprinting applications.
Provincial Strategy
The BC Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy commits $737 million to life sciences initiatives and has leveraged more than $1.2 billion in federal funding and private investment. The province targets 85,000 high value life sciences jobs, positioning BC as a global hub for biomanufacturing and leading center for commercial scale biopharmaceutical and medical manufacturing.
BC’s particular strengths include lipid nanoparticles, mRNA technology, antibodies, radiopharmaceuticals, genomics, and oncology research.
Clean Energy Advantage
British Columbia operates one of the cleanest electricity grids globally, with over 98% of generation from renewable sources including hydroelectric, wind, and solar. This provides reliable, environmentally sustainable power at rates among the lowest in North America.
BC Hydro Expansion
The Province is investing $36 billion to expand BC’s electricity system, ensuring communities and businesses throughout the province have clean, low cost electricity to support growth and attract investment. The newly operational Site C dam adds significant generation capacity.
Electricity demand is forecast to jump 15% by 2030, driven partly by data center development. Bell Canada announced plans in May 2025 to build six data centers in BC, while Telus Corporation committed $15 billion over 15 years for data centers, network upgrades, and other capital projects.
First Nations Clean Energy Partnership
Eight of the ten successful new renewable energy projects from BC Hydro’s Call for Power 2024 have 51% equity ownership by First Nations, demonstrating commitment to Indigenous economic participation in the clean energy transition.
Emissions Performance
BC’s net greenhouse gas emissions declined 2.2% between 2007 and 2022 while real GDP grew by 41%, compared to the national average of 27% GDP growth. The net GHG intensity of the economy (emissions per unit of GDP) fell by 30.5% during that period.
Regional Investment Ecosystems
Greater Vancouver
The metropolitan region hosts the majority of BC’s technology, film, and life sciences activity. Vancouver proper ranks among the top cities in North America for tech job growth between 2019 and 2023. The city’s multicultural population and high quality of life make it an attractive destination for global talent, though housing costs remain elevated.
Victoria
The provincial capital hosts significant technology activity including blockchain company Blockstream and government technology contractors. The city offers lower costs than Vancouver while maintaining strong talent access.
Kelowna
The Okanagan region has developed a growing technology cluster with lower operating costs and lifestyle advantages attracting both companies and workers.
Northern BC (Kitimat, Prince George)
LNG development and critical minerals projects are transforming northern communities. Kitimat hosts LNG Canada and Cedar LNG facilities while mining activity extends across the Golden Triangle region.
Economic Outlook and Trade Positioning
BC’s economy faces near term headwinds from tariff uncertainty while maintaining structural advantages for medium term growth.
Growth Projections
The province projects 1.4% real GDP growth in 2025 and 1.3% in 2026, with recovery to approximately 2% annual growth by 2027 through 2029. Strong consumer spending, steady residential construction, and government investments support economic activity despite lower home sales and export pressures.
In a tariff scenario with permanent US duties, growth could fall to 0.3% in 2025 and 0.8% in 2026. However, BC’s diversified trade profile with only 53% of exports to the US provides relative protection compared to other provinces.
Fiscal Position
The province projects an $11.2 billion deficit for 2025/26. Debt to GDP at 26.4% remains among the lowest in Canada, though the ratio is rising from 22.9% in 2024/25. BC maintains debt metrics below Ontario and Quebec while managing substantial capital investments.
Medium Term Catalysts
Several factors support BC’s recovery outlook:
LNG exports creating substantial new revenue streams and royalty income. Critical minerals demand driving mining investment and employment. FIFA World Cup 2026 hosting seven matches at BC Place with projected $1.7 billion economic impact. Film industry recovery with enhanced incentive structure. Data center development driven by AI infrastructure demand.
Immigration Pathways for Entrepreneurs
British Columbia offers multiple immigration pathways for international founders, though federal allocation reductions have constrained program capacity.
BC Provincial Nominee Program
The BC PNP received a 50% reduction in federal nomination allocation for 2025, dropping to 4,000 spaces. The program is prioritizing healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, and high economic impact candidates, with approximately 100 nominations reserved for registrants creating significant economic value.
BC PNP Tech Pilot provides a fast track pathway for immigrants with technology industry experience to apply for provincial nomination. Eligible applicants require full time job offers from qualified BC employers in one of 35 designated tech occupations.
Entrepreneur Immigration
BC PNP Entrepreneur Immigration offers pathways for experienced business owners:
The Base Category requires minimum C$200,000 personal investment and creation of at least one full time position for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Minimum personal net worth of C$600,000 is required.
The Regional Stream (formerly Regional Pilot, made permanent May 2024) targets entrepreneurs establishing businesses in communities under 75,000 population. Requirements include C$100,000 minimum investment, C$300,000 net worth, and establishment in participating communities across BC’s interior, coastal, and rural areas.
Entrepreneur immigration draws continued throughout 2025 with the most recent draw in November 2025 inviting candidates through both Base and Regional streams.
Canada Startup Visa
International founders with innovative business concepts can access BC’s ecosystem through the federal Startup Visa Program with endorsement from designated organizations. This pathway provides permanent residency upon meeting program requirements, with numerous BC based accelerators and venture funds serving as designated entities.
Strategic Considerations for Founders
Sector Alignment
BC presents strongest opportunities in cleantech and climate technology (aligned with provincial clean energy advantages and global demand), life sciences and biotech (supported by government investment and institutional capabilities), LNG supply chain services (emerging sector requiring specialized expertise), film production services (benefiting from enhanced incentives), critical minerals and mining technology (serving exploration and operational needs), and AI and data infrastructure (driven by data center expansion).
Cost Structure
Vancouver operating costs exceed most Canadian cities but remain competitive with US West Coast markets. Regional locations offer significant cost advantages while maintaining ecosystem access. Film production specifically benefits from Canadian dollar depreciation against US currency.
Market Access
BC provides the shortest shipping routes between North America and Asian markets. Port facilities in Vancouver and Prince Rupert offer direct connections to Pacific Rim economies. LNG infrastructure opens new energy export opportunities.
Talent Availability
The province hosts a highly educated workforce with 63% of Canada’s population aged 25 to 64 completing tertiary education. Universities including UBC, Simon Fraser University, and University of Victoria produce strong technical talent pipelines. International talent access through provincial nominee and federal immigration programs supports workforce growth despite recent allocation constraints.
Looking Forward
British Columbia enters 2026 with transformative infrastructure coming online and structural advantages increasingly relevant in a shifting global economy.
The LNG industry launch positions BC as a major energy supplier to Asian markets seeking alternatives to Russian gas and coal generation. Critical minerals deposits align with global demand for energy transition metals. Clean electricity abundance supports data center and manufacturing investment. Trade diversification reduces vulnerability to US policy shifts.
For international entrepreneurs, BC offers a combination of established innovation infrastructure, emerging industrial opportunities, and quality of life advantages. The province’s cleantech leadership, life sciences capabilities, and Asia Pacific positioning create distinctive opportunities for founders building companies at the intersection of sustainability and technology.
The challenges are real. Housing costs, immigration allocation constraints, and tariff uncertainty all require careful navigation. But for entrepreneurs with relevant expertise and long term perspective, BC’s investment in clean energy, life sciences manufacturing, and critical minerals infrastructure is creating new market opportunities that did not exist five years ago.
NextStars is a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa Program, supporting international entrepreneurs building companies across Canadian innovation ecosystems. For information on BC market entry strategies, contact our team at nextstars.io
