Natural resources survey released

PRINCE GEORGE – Abacus Data, in partnership with the BC Chamber of Commerce, has released a province-wide survey of the natural resource sector, in light of the Natural Resources Forum in the city this week.

The survey found that 55% of respondents from all across the province said natural resources were “crucial” to the BC economy, while another 43% considered them “important.” Only two per cent found of respondents found the industry to be unimportant. However, when asked about the health of several BC industries, 74% of respondents found that the tourism and hospitality industries were in “excellent/good” shape, only 13% said the same about the natural resource sector and 77% of respondents found forestry was in a “poor/terrible” state.

The poll went on to identify 75% of respondents believed “that the provincial government should encourage more investment in BC’s natural resource sector.”

British Columbians believe specific business segments are poised for growth, including renewable energy (75%), high-technology (68%), energy (58%), agriculture (54%), natural gas/LNG (51%), tourism/hospitality (45%), forest products (31%), mining (29%), and film and TV production (22%).