A Thriving Local Economy

It’s too hard to start, scale, and sustain a business of any kind in Vancouver, because City Hall keeps getting in the way.

The OneCity Team is betting on small and scaling businesses to drive economic growth and give you more time back in your life. Whether you’re trying to make a passion project into an income, or get your kids to school before the bell, OneCity’s Local Economy Action Plan will build a city where you can see your dreams come true. 

Our Local Economy Action Plan

Our Local Economy Action Plan will make it easier for hardworking Vancouverites to start, scale, and sustain a business across the city.

• Legalizing Backyard Businesses – We'll create legal pathways for residents to run low-impact businesses from home, giving real opportunities to people who can't afford commercial rent. We'll pair legal backyard businesses with common sense rules on noise, food and workplace safety, accessibility, and standard hours of operation, so your neighbour serving coffee out of their garage doesn't come at the cost of your health and safety.

• Legalizing Corner Stores – We'll make it possible to have these shops across the city, because we believe community members will create the next great generation of beloved local businesses if we give them the chance.

• Arts and Culture Everywhere – Opening a small cultural venue or community space can take years, even when your community would be better off with it open right now. We want to save you from the seemingly endless permit queue and give you a path to approval that takes mere weeks or months. 

• Making Pop-Ups, Poppin' – We think the City should be in the business of letting you try something new, even if it's only for a few hours. We'll create a straightforward, easy-to-get pop-up permit so vendors, artists, and cultural and community organizations can set up temporary markets and events with less hassle and in more places.

We’re going to make it easier, faster, and cheaper to start and scale a business in Vancouver,  so that everyone benefits from thriving local shops, restaurants, and services.

• Bringing Storefronts Back to Life – We'll match chronically vacant storefronts with short-term renters (like artists and entrepreneurs) to foster community activity while identifying structural barriers and developing durable solutions. 

• A New One-Stop Small Business Shop – We'll build a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs to meet regulatory requirements and access programs, so they can follow their dreams. 

• Seed Capital for Your Dreams – We'll create a tiered micro-grant system that will provide the necessary capital for average people to start, scale, and sustain built-in-Vancouver businesses.

• Changing 'Change of Use' – We'll reform the City’s existing Change of Use rules to ensure that low-risk businesses can occupy existing spaces faster, saving small businesses money, and ensuring that enforcement focuses on safety – not just more paperwork. These reforms will address licensing, upgrades, occupancy, zoning, and new development all in one place.

Invest in Vancouver

OneCity will encourage external investment and businesses of all kinds - not just flashy conferences and corporate HQs like ABC has been courting. 

• A New Business & Investment Office – We'll build a new Business & Investment Office (BIO) while working to reform, fund, and stabilize the regional Invest Vancouver so that Vancouver’s new BIO will have a partner they can count on.

• Fair Contracts for Community Good – We'll ensure City contracts reward fair wages, responsible contractors, apprenticeships, safety, and local jobs – not just the lowest upfront price. 

• Buy Vancouver First – We'll establish a procurement pilot which will ensure that City tax dollars prioritize supporting Vancouver businesses first, and Canadian businesses next. 

• Bringing Back the Industry Commissioner – We'll appoint a dedicated Industry Commissioner empowered to attract, engage, and deliver investment on Industrial Lands in support of businesses impacted by the US Trade War to achieve shared prosperity.

Make it easier to get from A to B

Traffic sucks. It also sucks your time and money away from you. OneCity will make it faster and easier to get to and from work so you can spend more time living and less time commuting.

• Connect Vancouver - We'll build a truly connected and protected active transport network citywide, so that you never need a car to get where you’re going in the city.

• Making the Bus Go Fast – We'll adopt a citywide Transit Signal Priority System so buses get the VIP Pass at stoplights they deserve, which can save you up to two weeks per year on your commute. And, work with Translink to ensure that every part of Vancouver has access to fast, frequent, affordable transit through bus priority corridors.

• Expanding Low Income & Under 19 Transit Passes – Advocate for the expansion of the Get on Board! Program for youth and expand it to Low Income Transit Riders.

• (Finally) Building the SkyTrain to UBC – Work with the Provincial and Federal governments to secure the funding necessary to connect the Broadway line to UBC. 

• Saving Mobi – Mobi’s future is precarious. We’ll look at options to save Mobi and have it belong to Vancouverites, so we can expand it to more neighbourhoods – like South Vancouver – and make it accessible for more riders.

What this means for you: with OneCity, you can make your dreams a reality without getting tied up in red tape. When your business needs a hand, the City will help you stay open instead of shutting the door. We’ll create more opportunities by welcoming innovative businesses of all sizes to open an office in Vancouver, and we’ll ensure your tax dollars go to making your commute faster, creating good jobs for Vancouverites, and ensuring everyone can access the city.