Vancouver

Demographic Information about Vancouver The population of Vancouver is approximately 611,869, but if including all of metro Vancouver it is said to be about 2,328,000. In the cit there is a population density of 5,335 people per km2 .Vancouver is the fourth most densely populated city in North America, following New York City, San Francisco and Mexico City. Vancouver is a very popular place for immigrants, with 40 percent of the population being immigrants. The minimum wage is $8.00, the lowest in all of Canada, although Vancouver has the highest housing prices in all of Canada. It is also the second most expensive city in Canada to live in. The unemployment rate is 7.8 percent. It is lower than the national Canadian average of 8.1 percent, but it is higher than the province of British Columbia’s average of 7.3 percent. The largest industry in Vancouver is forestry, followed closely by tourism. The third biggest industry in Vancouver is the film industry, and it is often called the “Hollywood of the North”. The biggest corporation in Vancouver is the Jim Pattison Group, which is invested in all sorts of areas of the city. The city was the host of the 2010 winter Olympic Games, and the revenue from the games was expected to bring a lot of money to the city. However the result was not as expected and the city lost an estimated $730 million. Vancouver is located on the Pacific Rim and at the furthest west point of Canada's transcontinental highway as well as the Canadian rail routes. This makes it the perfect center for the commercial port: The Port of Vancouver. It is the largest port in all of Canada, and the fourth biggest in North America. The port does more than 75 billion dollars worth of trade each year. Foreign investment is a huge part of the economy, due to the natural resources, available ports, and relatively low taxes. The “Investment Canada Act” enables foreign investors to invest in Canada. To aid investment during the depression the Canadian government recently announced “Invest Canada-Community Initiatives”, in which they fund projects to bring foreign investment into British Columbia. Although the world is in a economic downturn, the city of Vancouver seems to be staying strong economically. The real estate prices are still high, the industries are still in production, and the government is helping to continue the foreign investment.