B.C. gov’t announces 10-year ‘Look West’ plan

The B.C. government is rolling out a new decade-long plan to lock in major projects and build up the province’s skilled workforce.

The “Look West” strategy aims to land $200 billion in private investment, fast-track nation-building projects, and double funding for trades training.

B.C. Premier David Eby and Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon announced the strategy at a media event on Monday morning.

Eby says the proposed federal budget, which faces its first vote Monday, is designed to reward the provinces that are “willing to put themselves forward and to ensure that they’re delivering projects that will help our country stand on its own two feet” — a notion which he supports.

He says the strategy will help B.C. face economic unpredictability amid the trade war with the U.S. and “attacks” from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“To be able to realize and fulfill our responsibility to support the country — to support this ambitious agenda of the federal government going forward — we need to make sure that British Columbians have the plan to be able to deliver this,” said Eby.

The province reports that the strategy’s top priorities are training a skilled workforce and speeding up permitting to deliver big projects. It also aims to develop unique action plans for major sectors of the economy.

“For this strategy, we’re setting an ambitious 10-year plan across all sectors that are critical to B.C.’s future,” said Kahlon. “From life sciences to aerospace, to marine, national defence, construction innovation, to agriculture, food processing, AI, quantum computing, trade and logistics, infrastructure, and critical minerals and energy.

The list of first actions under the strategy, the province says, includes a $10-million investment in direct business supports through the B.C. Manufacturing Jobs Fund, a $33-million contribution to Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub at UBC, an exploratory committee for the integration of AI platforms in the school system, and increased collaboration with SFU’s quantum computing institute.