Business Resources

Research from LOCO BC shows that local businesses in British Columbia generate more than double the economic impact of their chain competitors, and the multiplier is even greater when compared to online giants. 

For every $100 spent with a B.C. local business, $63 is re-circulated back into our B.C. economy, compared to $14 when spent with multinational corporations. Overall, local businesses re-circulate 4.6 times more revenue in the local economy. 

Revenue re-circulated by sector in B.C.: 

• Retail: 63% local vs. 14% chains
• Restaurants: 68% local vs. 30% chains
• Suppliers: 33% local vs. 19% chains

Spending locally helps strengthen businesses, employment, and communities across the province. Additional resources are available through LOCO BC’s webpage. 

Did you know? Local businesses in B.C.: 

• Create 4 out of every 10 jobs 
• Make 31% of their purchases from other BC businesses
• Create 8 times more jobs and revenue per square foot than multinationals
• Give 24 times more per dollar of revenue to local causes than multinationals
• Make up 98% of all businesses in BC and produce 34% of provincial GDP

Our definition of “local” is informed by research conducted by LOCO BC on economic and other business impacts. When asking ‘what’s local’, follow these guidelines: 

Local Owned businesses are:

• Private companies (ex. single owner or partnership, employee owned, co-operative or social enterprise/non-profit)
• Headquartered in BC
• > 50% of owners residing in BC.

Local Grown products are:

• Agricultural products grown in B.C. (ex. food, plants, fibre, wood)
• Manufactured products with >50% materials grown in B.C.

Local Made* products are:

• Wholly or largely (>50%) manufactured or processed in B.C.

*Can include products produced without local materials or ingredients. Local made products with local ingredients or materials can add “Local Grown” if applicable.

Want to support local but not sure where to start? Here are a few simple ways to get involved: 

Buy Local Online
Support local businesses from the comfort of your home by shopping their online stores, booking services, or ordering for pickup and delivery. Convenient for you, impactful for your community.

Support Communities
Support your friends, neighbors, and the causes they support. Local businesses reinvest in community events, charities, and initiatives that help your community thrive.

Shop In-Store
Visit your favorite storefronts to enjoy personalized service, unique products, and meaningful connection with the people behind the businesses.

Give Experiences
Choose experience-based gifts, like wellness classes, live comedy, theatre, or cultural events to support local venues and create memories.

Put Local on Your Table
Choose local ingredients, food products, beverages & food services to enjoy support local products and businesses.

Buy Local Made
Support local artists, makers and manufacturers by choosing products made in your community, helping sustain creativity, craftsmanship, and local jobs.

Buy Local Gift Cards
Give gift cards from local stores and restaurants to keep spending local while giving recipients the flexibility to choose what they love.

The Province of British Columbia introduced The Buy BC program to help identify B.C.-made food and beverage products and to support local growers, producers, and processors. 

There has never been a better time to Buy BC and support local businesses. Looking for locally made food and beverage products? Explore the Buy BC program to learn more.

Interested in becoming a Buy BC member?
Producers, processors, retailers, farmers’ markets, and industry associations can apply to use the Buy BC logo on packaging and marketing materials – at no cost. 

New Westminster Chamber of Commerce

T: 604-521-7781
E: info@newwestchamber.com
newwestchamber.com

Downtown Business Improvement Association

Angelene Prakash
Executive Director
T: 604-524-4996
E: info@downtownnewwest.ca
downtownnewwest.ca

Sapperton Business Collective

Curtis Van Marck
Treasurer
E: info@visitsapperton.com

Uptown Business Association

Sheila Cameron
Executive Director
E: info@myuptown.ca
myuptown.ca

West End Business Association

Wes Everaars
President
E info@nw-weba.ca
nw-weba.ca

Tourism New West

Gerardo Corro
Executive Director
E: ED@tourismnewwest.com
T: 604-526-1905
www.tourismnewwest.com

Arts New West

Laura Grady
Executive Director
E: laura.grady@acnw.ca
T: 604-525-3244
www.acnw.ca

Don't see your area listed?

The City of New Westminster has many diverse and unique commercial areas. Some have well established business associations or business improvement associations, but some aren't as well established or don't exist at all. Reach out to the Economic Development Office and we can try to connect you.

Explore our information sheets covering safety tips and best practices for businesses:

• Video Surveillance Tips from NWPD
• Fire Prevention Tips for Businesses

Business Education Nights are a series of virtual seminars that touch on topics that are seldom offered - how to work within the community you are in, and what resources exist. They are scheduled for every second month and will be recorded. Materials or resources mentioned will be shared after each event.

Vulnerable People and Homelessness

Join NWPD Vulnerable Persons Liaison Officer Camille Oliveira, Bylaw Office / Tenant Support Coordinator Bal Varn, and Economic Development Coordinator Jen Arbo to discuss information and strategies to compassionately address impacts of vulnerable and homeless folks on your business.

• Presentation Recording
• Presentation Slides
• Materials Referenced:
  • Business Licence Holder Resource Guide
  • Nuisance Activity Reporting and Resources Information Sheet

Opioid Crisis and Drug Overdose - How to use Nalaxone

This session, recorded April 2022, features four guest speakers who offer insight and education on the opioid crisi and how businesses can support drug users. Use these links to skip to the information most important to you:

• 00:00 Introduction and Background Information
• 03:42 What Does the Purpose Society Offer? with Sydney Andrews and Travis Walker from the Lower Mainland Purpose Society
• 24:17 Current Situation in New Westminster with Assistant Deputy Chief Brad Davie, New Westminster Fire & Rescue Services
• 27:37 - Brad Davie also provides information about preparing your worksite for an overdose emergency, including a nalaxone demonstration
• 52:55 - Tailgate Toolkit with Colby Young from the Vancouver Island Construction Association - discussing stigma of substance use, especially in the construction and trades industry.
• 1:25:27 - Regional Resources for Harm Reduction with Tyler Weatherup from Fraser Health - Tyler also talks a lot about shame, and its impacts and has some constructive tips on what to do if you're a business owner and an employee seeks your support.

Open data refers to the release of municipal data, with an open licence, which is free of charge for anyone to use and reuse for any purpose.

Open data is provided in accessible formats, meaning that it is machine readable and is structured in a logical way. For numerical tabular files (spreadsheets), some common open formats include XLS or CSV. For text files, common formats include TXT.

Our datasets are sourced directly from the City of New Westminster Departments and can be tabular (tables of data) or spatial (based on mapping files).

Explore New Westminster's open datasets.

New Westminster’s transit-friendly commercial space is attracting and retaining businesses seeking to capitalize our city's strengths – location, transportation, affordability, character and infrastructure. Enjoy competitive lease rates and a supportive and welcoming business community that continues to prosper. Visit our SpaceList listing link or contact your commercial agent.