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Invest Vancouver / Metro Vancouver Advantage

The Metro Vancouver Advantage

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Welcome to the Metro Vancouver region: Canada’s West Coast Business Capital​​

Located on Canada's Pacific coast, Metro Vancouver gives businesses direct access to North American a​​nd global markets while connecting them with exceptional talent, leading research institutions, and a thriving innovation ecosystem.

​​Whether your goal is market expansion, techn​ology development, talent acquisition, or long-term investment, our region provides the ideal conditions to establish, scale, and succeed.

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3rd largest metropolitan hub in Canada

3.1 million residents

#1 most liveable city in North America1

#1 G20 nation for fiscal soundness2

#3 best country in the G20 to conduct business3

#9 Tech Talent Scorecard ranking in North America4

​Foreign companies that land here, expand here.

According to a new survey from Invest Vancouver, the average foreign company triples their workforce ​in the Metro Vancouver region once landed. More than half of these firms entered the market with 30 or fewer employees and grew by an impressive 233 per cent5​.

Innovations Advantages Data Centre

Looking for industry-specific opportunities?

Explore Metro Vancouver's strengths in technology, life sciences, cleantech, digital media & entertainment, and more.

Explore key industries

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​Why companies invest and grow in the Metro Vancouver region​

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    Specialized talent driving innovation and business growth​

    • Highest quality tech talent in Canada 6
    • Top 10 Education System Globally 7
    • 9th Most Livable City in the World 8
    Discover our talent advantage
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    Customer and market access opening pathways to new opportunities

    • Best Airport in North America for 15 Consecutive Years and #10 in World
    • The only major Canadian economic hub in a time zone where you can do business with Europe and Asia during a regular business day
    Explore our global connectivity
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    Competitive cost of doing business supporting efficient growth and investment returns

    • Estimated one-year costs for a tech firm in the region are almost 25% less than the North American average and 54% less than San Francisco9
    • Canada offers further savings through the #1 lowest marginal effective tax rate (METR) on new business investment in the G710
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    Regulatory certainty providing clarity and reducing investment risk

    • Ranked #2 globally for foreign investor confidence for 4 years running due in part to stable fundamentals 11
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    Industry momentum reinforcing Metro Vancouver's position as a leading business cluster

    • Growing innovation clusters in High Tech, Clean Tech, Life Sciences, Digital Media & Entertainment
    • 3rd largest concentration of tech talent in Canada
    • One of Canada’s fastest growing biotechnology hubs
    • 3rd largest film and TV production centre in North America
    • 260+ clean tech businesses
    Learn about our key industries
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    Research and innovation partnerships that bring discoveries to market

    • UBC and SFU are home to leading commercialization platforms, helping researchers and companies accelerate technology development and market adoption.
    • UBC discoveries have led to more than 280 spin-off companies, generating an estimated $13 billion in sales across multiple sectors, and SFU has supported more than 500 ventures based on SFU discoveries and research12 .

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Our services​​​​​

​We're here to help you reach your goals with valuable support. Invest Vancouver offers a number of services at no cost to you including:​

  • Connections: Link with key partners critical to your success, such as government, industry leaders, professional services, and institutions.
  • Business Intelligence: Make better business decisions with local tailored insights, intelligence, and data.
  • Local Knowledge and Expertise: Get site selection support and custom tours that get you insider access to experts, business districts, leading universities, and innovation hubs.​
  • Strategic Advice: ​​​​​Make your investment journey seamless from start to finish. Find out about valuable incentives, regulations, and immigration.​

How can we help


​​Footnotes

1 The Global Liveability Index 2026, Economist Intelligence​ Unit, 2026

2 Office of the Chief Economist, Government of Canada, 2024

3 Invest in Canada Website, April 13, 2026

4 CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2026

5 FDI Growth and Expansion Drivers, PwC Canada and Invest Vancouver, 2026

6 CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2026

7 Global High Performing Countries, National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), March 19, 2026

8 The Global Liveability Index 2026, Economist Intelligence Unit, 2026

9 Assuming 500 employees and 60,000 sqft. office space. Source: CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2026

10 Economic Growth and Productivity, Department of Finance, Government of Canada Website, April 13, 2026

11 The 2026 Kearney FDI Confidence Index, Kearny, 2026

12 It all started at UBC: How a professor ignited B.C.’s biotech boom, August 2025 | SFU launches $20M fund with InBC to invest in spin-off ventures, May 2026​


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Invest Vancouver acknowledges that the region’s residents live, work, and learn on the shared territories of many Indigenous Peoples, including 10 local First Nations: q̓ic̓əy̓(Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), máthxwi (Matsqui), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), Semiahmoo, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), scəw̓aθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh).

Invest Vancouver respects the diverse and distinct histories, languages, and cultures of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

View Metro Vancouver's translated territorial acknowledgment

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