BC Chamber of Commerce marks Small Business Week with five priorities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tax relief, safer streets, rural workforce, transportation corridors and internal trade, drawn from policies outlined by local chambers across the province

VANCOUVER, Oct. 15, 2026 — The BC Chamber of Commerce today set out five policy priorities for small business, drawn from the recommendations of local chambers of commerce and boards of trade across British Columbia. The priorities are released in advance of Small Business Week, Oct. 19 to 23. During the week, the BC Chamber is celebrating with free programming for small businesses all week and the launch of the new Small Business Excellence Awards.

"Every one of these priorities started as a conversation between a business owner and their local chamber," said Jen Riley, President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. "Small businesses account for 98 per cent of the businesses in British Columbia, and our network is rooted in the communities where they operate. This fall, we will carry those conversations to government.”

The BC Chamber’s policy positions start with local chambers and boards of trade, which bring forward the issues their members are facing. Each year, delegates from across the province meet at the BC Chamber’s Annual Conference & Policy Forum to debate those proposals and adopt them as network policy. Among the policies adopted over the past three years, five themes stand out as priorities for small business:

1. Tax relief for small business. The provincial government's pause on the sales tax expansion was welcome progress. The network recommends cancelling the expansion outright. It also recommends an Employer Health Tax threshold indexed to inflation and an investment tax credit that works when a business changes hands.
2. Safer streets and lower costs for the businesses on them. Property crime, vandalism and street disorder carry a direct cost for small businesses, from repairs and security to rising insurance premiums. The network adopted four resolutions addressing these pressures in 2026 and will work with government to advance the measures with the greatest potential impact.
3. Workforce policy that works in rural communities. Federal immigration and international student policies should reflect the workforce needs of rural communities. The network further recommends a province-wide map of labour shortages by sector and region, so that employers beyond the major centres can attract and retain the people they need.
4. Transportation corridors that move goods and people. The network recommends a provincial corridor strategy that recognizes northern corridors and secondary routes as economic infrastructure. It also calls for sustained investment in port supply chains, and for rural transit planning undertaken in partnership with rural communities.
5. Finish the job on internal trade. Build on progress on mutual recognition across provinces of goods, services and professional credentials, starting with alcohol, and remove B.C.’s remaining exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Together, these measures would allow a B.C. business to sell to another province as readily as it sells abroad.

The network tracks the progress of every policy it adopts. Over the past three years, more than 35 policies in the BC Chamber's policy manual have recorded progress, and movement is under way on the five above.

"The record of the past three years tells us that the network’s policy process is working," Riley said. "Our role is to bring the perspectives of local business into the policy process, and that work extends well beyond Small Business Week.”

The BC Chamber’s Small Business Week Summit runs Oct. 19 to 23 with five free virtual sessions, alongside chamber-led events in communities across the province. Register at bcchamber.org/2026-small-business-week-summit. The week also introduces the inaugural BC Chamber Small Business Excellence Awards, with chambers and boards of trade across the province each recognizing a small business in their own community.
 

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About the BC Chamber of Commerce

The BC Chamber of Commerce represents more than 35,000 businesses of every size and sector through its network of local chambers of commerce and boards of trade across British Columbia. Local chambers are rooted in their communities and connected to the businesses they serve; the BC Chamber brings what those businesses are experiencing into a provincial picture and carries it into government conversations and decisions. Founded in 1878 as the British Columbia Board of Trade, it is the largest business network in the province.

Media Contact

Audrey Plaskacz
Communications Consultant
[email protected]