OneCity on business: a $3 million office, micro-grants and Buy Vancouver
OneCity says it would fund a new Business & Investment Office at $3 million, open an Entrepreneur Liaison Office, create tiered micro-grants for small businesses, run a three-year Buy Vancouver purchasing pilot and add a Good Jobs Procurement Standard to city contracts.
A THRIVING LOCAL ECONOMY
Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2: what the Our Plans says
OneCity published the second part of its Local Economy Action Plan on August 17, 2026. The page is about how City Hall treats people who start, move or grow a business in Vancouver. The party says ABC closed the Vancouver Economic Commission three years earlier, and it describes that agency as having helped attract over $3 billion in investment. Those are the party's own claims about the agency's record.
Two of the five parts are new city offices. A Business & Investment Office would get $3 million in funding, and the party says it would also work to reform, fund and stabilize Invest Vancouver, which it calls a regional body. An Entrepreneur Liaison Office would have staff who help business owners find their way through permits, licences and funding from every level of government.
The other three parts deal with money. The party would create micro-grants in tiers, run by a committee of business, labour and community members that it calls non-partisan. It would run a three-year Buy Vancouver pilot so city spending favours goods and services from Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada. It would also judge contract bids on wages, safety, apprenticeships and local hiring as well as price. All five parts are decisions for City Council, which sets the city budget, creates city offices and writes the city's own purchasing rules. The one exception is Invest Vancouver: the party describes it as regional, so changes to it would need the other governments that share it.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Funding OneCity would give a new Business & Investment Office
The party's figureInvestment OneCity says the former Vancouver Economic Commission helped attract
The party's figureLength of the Buy Vancouver purchasing pilot OneCity proposes
The party's figure5 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Restore the Business & Investment Office
OneCity would build a new Business & Investment Office, funded at $3 million, and work to reform, fund and stabilize the regional Invest Vancouver so the city office has a steady partner.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council can create and fund a city office, while the party itself describes Invest Vancouver as regional, so reforming it needs the other governments that run it.
An Entrepreneur Liaison Office
The party would set up an Entrepreneur Liaison Office with dedicated staff who help entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses that want to start, relocate or expand in Vancouver find their way through permits, licensing and funding at every level of government.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides which offices City Hall has and how many staff they get.
Small Business & Community Micro Grants
OneCity would create a tiered micro-grant system to help start, grow and secure businesses built in Vancouver, run by a committee of business, labour and community representatives that the party calls non-partisan. The page names non-profits as eligible too.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the city budget, which is where grant money would come from.
Buy Vancouver, Build Resilience
The party would run a three-year purchasing pilot called Buy Vancouver, so that city tax dollars favour goods and services from Vancouver and support businesses and jobs across British Columbia and Canada.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the rules for how the city buys goods and services.
A Good Jobs Procurement Standard
OneCity would judge city contracts on fair wages, responsible contractors, apprenticeships, safety, and local and inclusive hiring, as well as on the lowest upfront price.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the standards that companies must meet to win city contracts.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about local economy action plan, part 2
What is OneCity's plan for small business in Vancouver?
OneCity says it would open a Business & Investment Office funded at $3 million, create an Entrepreneur Liaison Office to help owners with permits and licences, and set up tiered micro-grants for small businesses. It would also favour local suppliers in city purchasing (OneCity Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2, August 17, 2026).
Would OneCity bring back the Vancouver Economic Commission?
OneCity proposes a new Business & Investment Office funded at $3 million in its place. The party says ABC closed the Vancouver Economic Commission three years before the plan was published. It would also work to reform and fund the regional Invest Vancouver (OneCity Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2).
What is Buy Vancouver in the OneCity platform?
Buy Vancouver is a three-year purchasing pilot proposed by OneCity. City tax dollars would favour goods and services bought in Vancouver, and support businesses and jobs across British Columbia and Canada. Council sets the city's purchasing rules, so it could start such a pilot (OneCity Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2).
Who would hand out OneCity's small business micro-grants?
OneCity says a committee of business, labour and community representatives, which it calls non-partisan, would run the tiered micro-grant system. The grants would help start, grow and secure businesses built in Vancouver. The party gives no grant amounts (OneCity Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2).
Could Vancouver City Council carry out OneCity's economy plan on its own?
Most of it, yes. Council creates city offices, approves the budget that would pay for grants, and writes the rules for city contracts. The exception is Invest Vancouver, which OneCity describes as a regional body, so changing it would need the other governments that share it (OneCity Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2).
How would OneCity change how Vancouver awards city contracts?
OneCity would adopt a Good Jobs Procurement Standard. Bids would be judged on fair wages, responsible contractors, apprenticeships, safety, and local and inclusive hiring, along with price. The party says the lowest bid now wins too often (OneCity Local Economy Action Plan, Part 2).
ON THE BALLOT
The OneCity candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- OneCity Announces the second part of our Local Economic Action Plan SAYS SO ITSELFOneCity · published · checked