The B.C. government is contributing $50,000 to help Metro Vancouver bid for retail giant Amazon’s second headquarters.
According to the province, the money will help Metro Vancouver partners, including the City of Vancouver and the City of Surrey, to prepare their submission to Amazon. Premier John Horgan made the announcement on Friday at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM( convention.
Amazon plans to invest $5 billion in the second headquarters in North America and create 50,000 jobs.
“B.C. offers unlimited possibilities for tech companies like Amazon. We have a fast-growing tech sector and several U.S. companies, such as Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Sony Imageworks, have already established a presence here because of the talent base that B.C. offers,” Premier John Horgan said. “Amazon HQ2 is an opportunity to create thousands of well-paying jobs for the people of B.C., which will greatly benefit our communities and the tech sector and create spin-off benefits for related industries.”
“Amazon HQ2 is an opportunity to create thousands of well-paying jobs for the people of B.C., which will greatly benefit our communities and the tech sector and create spin-off benefits for related industries.”
The Vancouver Economic Commission is co-ordinating the bid process with the City of Surrey and the City of Vancouver. With the province, the two cities have formed a steering committee and Deloitte will put together the regional bid proposal. The deadline is Oct. 19.
Langford is also planning to submit a request for proposal to Amazon, which the province said it will consider supporting.
“We’re talking with John we let him know this is a serious bid for us and we’re working on it,” Langford Mayor Stewart Young, who was at the UBCM convention on Friday, said.
Young said he expects the province to provide financial support to the Langford bid following meetings with stakeholders, including local educational institutions, business leaders and politicians next week.
“The bid for us needs to have a lot of partners and support and that’s what we’re working on right now.”
Alexa Huffman
