Eighties Economy

Still looking the era of the eighties, we see by graphs - none of which I have to show you -that while most Vancouverites do not work directly in the resource extraction industries, it does affect all of us. During this decade, $17 billion in exports left BC ports and those came primarily from the industries of forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. 

The service industry made up 70% of the BC economy in 1989. This industry first rose to cater to the people who had come to BC to extract its natural resources. Gold and coal miners, fisheries and forestry workers dominated the early economy of the province. And someone had to supply them.

When the gold rushes started and men came to parts of BC to make their fortune, the really smart ones were those who started businesses to supply the miners. Those miners may not ever find their gold but they still needed supplies.

In 1969, the "goods producing" sector, consisting of resource extraction industries plus manufacturing, construction and utilities made up 40% of the province's gross national product. Twenty years later, in 1989, that level had dropped to 30%.

The "service producing" sector continued to grow in importance and approached the $50 billion level in 1989. Included in this sector is the tourist industry, which was greatly increased by Expo 86.  The revenues from that alone reached $4 billion. A breakdown is as follows: Public Administration and Defence, under $4 billion; Transportation, Communication and Storage, almost $7 billion; Wholesale and Retail trade, over $8 billion; Finance, Real Estate and Insurance, $13 billion; and Community Business and Personal Services, over $15 billion.   

A breakdown of the good producing sector is as follows: Construction, less than $5 billion; Other, about $6 billion - this represents the combination of mining ($1.9 billion), utilities ($1.8 billion), forestry and logging ($1.7 billion), agriculture ($0.6 billion) and fishing and trapping ($0.3 billion). Manufacturing, which includes sawmills and pulp mills was almost $10 billion.

Following the 1981 recession, the provincial government was under the leadership of Bill Bennett. Bennett recognized the importance of diversifying our economy and making BC less dependent on a single factor such as resource extraction.

Bennett invited foreign investors to place their money in BC. Asia answered Bennett's invitation and in the 3 years between 1988 and 1990, Asians invested a total of $6 billion in the province. During the same time period, an economic downturn struck most of the rest of the county. Thanks to some quick thinking, BC got through the recession of the late 1980s with relative ease.

Thanks to the book, Vancouver, a Visual History by Bruce Macdonald for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Eighties Entertainment

During the 1980s, school enrolment dropped quite a bit. However, the density of residential areas increased in population by 9% to 451,000 in 1989. The increase in density was helped by the construction of the Sktrain. Before the train, it was difficult for people living in communities such as New Westminster or Surrey or Coquitlam to come to Vancouver. It could be done but there is no freeway system in the city.

Port Vancouver saw real growth in the 1980s, becoming the largest in North America in terms of tonnage of imports and exports by the end of the decade. For the first time, the Port of Vancouver shipped almost as many goods to Asia as to the United States. About 30% of all exports went to Japan. The port handled more lumber, grain and coal than any other port in Canada. Over 3,000 foreign vessels docked here in 1989.

The 80s was the decade when the entertainment industry discovered Vancouver. The television industry filmed such classics as 21 Jump Street, the last season of Airwolf, Good Rockin' Tonite (one of my favourite shows, featuring music videos) and MacGyver here in Vancouver. And that is just to name a few. The Wikipedia page I consulted had over 200 pages for shows filmed in Vancouver.

And the movie industry found Vancouver as well.  Wikipedia has 386 pages for movies filmed in Vancouver. Of course, not all listed were filmed in the 80s but some from that decade include Cousins with Ted Danson, Rocky IV with Sylvestor Stallone and Shoot to Kill with Tom Beringer and Sidney Poitier.

Vancouver's pop/rock music scene also exploded. Artists such as Headpins, Bryan Adams, Loverboy, The Payolas, Sweeney Todd gained international success and showed the world talent does exist here. (A funny thing. I did an interview with the online radio show, Debra's Roundtable and was talking about Vancouver's 80s music scene)

Tourism in Vancouver got quite a boost, thanks to the success of Expo 86 and the West Coast became the fourth most popular destination in the world for cruise ships.

The suburbs otherwise known as part of Greater Vancouver, also benefited in the 80s. The Westminster Quay redevelopment along the New Westminster waterfront was a $330 million mega-project. This was a huge mega project. It turned out quite nice too.

By the time the new decade started, the Lower Mainland had boomed. The following number of businesses called this area home:

2,200 restaurants;1,200 real estate firms; 1,000 auto-repair shops;800 beauty shops; 800 insurance businesses; 700 travel agencies; 600 construction firms; 600 women's clothing and speciality stores; 600 computer and data processing businesses; 600 furniture stores and 500 drug stores. Wow!

Thanks to the book, Vancouver, A Visual History by Bruce Macdonald for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

80's Heroes

From the city's very beginning as a one block long frontier village snuggled beside a sawmill, Vancouver had promise. On April 6, 1986, the city turned 100 and was now a metropolis occupying 5,500 city blocks and surrounded by blossoming suburbs.

This once tiny hamlet now housed varied populations, mixed lifestyles, numerous buildings and businesses. A long way from the settlement Gassy Jack Deighton set up his saloon in all those years ago.

Today, I am going to talk to you about the 1980s in Vancouver.

The spring of 1980 shocked many Vancouverites when, on May 18, Mount St. Helens erupted. The shocks continued with interest rates of almost 23% in 1981 and the selling price of a home nearly doubled in one year.

Throughout this decade, from 1982 to 1988, unemployment numbers were double digits. AIDS and organ transplants intrigued many of us and technology made its way into our homes with microwaves, VCRs, computers, and compact disc players.

Vancouver restaurants started to create outdoor patios in the summer for its patrons to enjoy our mild weather.

The 1980s was a big decade for Vancouver. The city hosted Expo 86 and invited the world to come visit. Once the fair was over, immigration increased and the number of languages spoken in the schools increased to 60. By 1989, almost 75% of the immigrants coming to Vancouver from outside Canada were from Asia. (Hence, our nickname Hongcouver) 

The eighties was also when Vancouver became known as the "Peace Capital of Canada" when the city declared itself a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and inaugurated a huge peace march in 1982 against the nuclear arms race. This annual event grew to be the largest of its kind in North America. Up to 100,000 participants.

Many people view the eighties as a selfish decade but there are two events that speak of 1980s to me. One is the Marathon of Hope. Terry Fox, having lost a leg to cancer, dipped his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic on April 12, 1980. He filled two bottles with water from the ocean, intending on pouring one into the Pacific Ocean and keeping the other for a souvenir. Then he started to run. His goal was to run across Canada and to raise one dollar from every Canadian to help in the fight against cancer. Sadly, he made it just a little over halfway before the cancer returned and he was flown home to BC where he died a year later. However, money is still be raised in his name to fight cancer.

The second event is the Man in Motion tour. On March 21, 1985, paraplegic Rick Hansen waved goodbye to a crowd of people at Oakridge Mall in Vancouver and began a year long journey. He wheeled his wheelchair around the world and faced many hardships and triumphs along the way. His goal was to raise money for spinal cord research. Hansen completed his journey and has gone on to do many more great things.

Two of my heroes made their mark in the 1980s and both are from my home province.

The first two paragraphs are information from a book entitled Vancouver, A Visual History by Bruce Macdonald. The last, from me.

I hope you find the beauty around you.