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2007 Benchmarks: Introduction

Established in 2001, the BC Progress Board tracks changes in the economic performance and social wellbeing of British Columbia. The Board consists of up to 18 business executives and academic leaders from around the province. British Columbia has the natural and human capital to become a leader in Canada. Moreover, the province is well placed to become a global leader. The Board has two mandates:

  • Measure and benchmark British Columbia's performance over time, and relative to other jurisdictions, in order to determine if BC's competitiveness and quality of life are improving;
  • Advise the Premier on strategies, policies and actions that could enhance BC's economic and social wellbeing regardless of whether government, business or individual actions are required.
The BC Progress Board's benchmark work is the most comprehensive review available of the state of the province's economy, innovativeness, education, environment, health and societal performance. The Board has two main objectives:
  • Help make BC a leader in Canada in the economy, innovation and education;
  • Help make BC a leader in the environment, health and society.
For each objective, the Board has three core targets and 13 performance indicators. Under the "Economy, Innovation, and Education" objective, the core targets are: economic growth, standard of living, and jobs. Under the "Environment, Health and Society" objective, the core targets are: environmental quality, health outcomes, and social condition.

Historical and Recent Results

ranking 2007 BC's performance relative to the rest of the country has shown general improvement between the first annual benchmark report and this — the seventh — annual report. The Board's initial goal for the six core targets was to maintain first place in Canada in environmental quality and health outcomes, and to achieve a first or second place rank in the other four core targets.

Since the Progress Board was established in 2001, BC has maintained its first place rank in environmental quality and health outcomes. BC has maintained its third place rank in standard of living thanks to solid personal income gains. As well, BC has seen strong employment growth. Although the province earned a sixth place rank for economic growth in 2006, the general economic outlook remains strong. In social condition, however, BC has lagged compared to the other provinces. The province is performing particularly poorly in two of the performance indicators that make up this composite index: the crime rate, and the number of families and unattached individuals with income below the after-tax low income cut-off. This is a continuing concern, and the Board released reports on crime and the criminal justice system and the social condition in 2006

Reporting Framework

The BC Progress Board issues benchmark reports that compare BC to other jurisdictions, and, within BC, compare the province's major metropolitan areas to each other and to the nonmetropolitan area of the province (Regional BC).

External Performance Review

The Board issues an annual benchmarking report. It has a section on "Economy, Innovation, and Education," and a section on "Environment, Health and Society." For each of these sections, the report provides BC's latest ranking in the six core targets and 26 performance indicators used to assess the province's economic performance and social wellbeing. These reports compare BC to Canada's other provinces, to other jurisdictions in North America, and to OECD countries. The board also issues a midyear interim benchmarking report. It has six core targets and 26 performance indicators, but does not compare BC with other jurisdictions in North America or OECD countries.

Internal Performance Review

In the 2007 report, the Board has included a section that provides regional comparisons within BC. Previously, these results were published in a separate volume. The internal review follows the same two objectives as the external review: "Economy, Innovation, and Education" and "Environment, Health and Society." For the first objective, the internal review tracks 10 regional indicators, and for the second objective it tracks eight regional indicators. The internal review compares the major metropolitan areas and Regional BC and provides performance detail on BC's development regions and health authorities.

Economy, Innovation and Education

Metro Vancouver, which is identical to the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) outperforms Regional BC on six of ten Regional Indicators. They are: employment income; building permits; secondary school graduates; university completion; science employment; and, new business formation. Metro Vancouver and Regional BC are essentially tied on employment rate and housing starts. Regional BC has the edge in manufacturing shipments and retail sales.

Environment, Health and Society

Metro Vancouver and Regional BC are more closely matched in the eight Environment, Health and Society indicators than in the Economy, Innovation and Education comparisons. Regional BC outperforms Vancouver on the low birth weight rate and social condition while Vancouver is clearly better on cancer mortality. The regions are more or less tied for the other five. Even though there are differences they are relatively small.