Building What Matters: Business Leaders Gather in Fort St. John for BC Chamber AGM & Conference

For three days in Fort St. John, business leaders, chamber professionals, policymakers, Indigenous partners, and community builders from across British Columbia came together for the BC Chamber of Commerce's 74th Annual General Meeting & Conference.

Held under the theme Building What Matters: Clarity, Trust and Partnership in Action, the conference focused on some of the most important opportunities and challenges facing business communities across the province.

Unpacking the Issues That Matter

Conversations throughout the week took place against the backdrop of a rapidly changing business landscape, with growing attention on trade, new markets, and the long-term competitiveness of British Columbia's economy.
Discussions unpacked both the complexity and the opportunity within British Columbia's energy sector. Indigenous leaders, industry experts, and community builders shared practical perspectives on how communities can move forward together toward shared goals. Participants also heard directly from Premier David Eby, Official Opposition House Leader Á'aíya Warbus, and Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon on the issues shaping BC's economic future.

The conference also provided an opportunity for delegates to debate and approve new policy resolutions that will help inform the BC Chamber's advocacy work in the year ahead. Those discussions reflected the priorities emerging from business communities across the province and reinforced the important role chambers play in bringing local perspectives to provincial conversations.

Businesses Are Better Together

Perhaps most importantly, the week reinforced something many in the room already knew: businesses are better together.

British Columbia is a large and diverse province. The realities facing businesses in Fort St. John may look different than those in Kamloops, Cranbrook, Richmond, or Nanaimo. Yet many of the opportunities and challenges facing communities are connected.

That is where the Chamber network plays an important role.

By bringing together perspectives from across the province, chambers and boards of trade help communities learn from one another, identify shared priorities, and elevate those insights to inform the conversations, decisions, and actions that shape British Columbia's future.

A New Chapter for the BC Chamber

The conference also marked the beginning of an important new chapter for the BC Chamber.

In the lead-up to the event, the organization's Board of Directors approved a new strategic plan developed under the leadership of President & CEO Jen Riley and informed by conversations with chamber leaders from across the province.

While the plan will be introduced more fully in the months ahead, many of its themes were on display throughout the week: stronger connections between communities, a deeper understanding of the realities facing businesses across BC, and a renewed commitment to ensuring local business perspectives help shape the decisions and priorities that affect communities across the province.

The conference offered an early glimpse of that next chapter in action.

Looking Ahead

At a time when the world is moving faster than understanding, British Columbia cannot be understood from any one community, industry, or perspective alone.

The 74th AGM & Conference demonstrated the strength of the Chamber network and the important role it plays in supporting resilient, healthy, and connected business communities across British Columbia.

The BC Chamber's next chapter builds on that strength, with a renewed focus on empowering business communities and stepping fully into its role as the collective of the collective at a moment when it matters more than ever.