Markets were shaky—these stories weren’t: Our favourite BCBusiness picks of 2025

Everyone in B.C. has felt the fiscal challenges and macroeconomic headwinds that characterized 2025. And while it hasn’t been the most standout year for growth, we at BCBusiness have had the privilege of sharing local stories of innovation, resilience and collaboration.

Here are some of our favourites.

How to snag a $300,000 condo in Vancouver

I think at this point we are all well aware what a dumpster fire the Vancouver real estate market is—sky high prices, terrible affordability, yadda yadda yadda.  So when Land Values columnist Frances Bula wanted to write about landing the white whale of housing in the city—an actually affordable condo—I was game. Pouring through real estate listings we found the deals to be had—about three dozen apartments for sale for under $400k—but of course there’s a catch. Or five. Odd zoning bylaws, leasehold heartbreakers—these places are not for the faint of heart. But holy moly was this a fun feature to put together, on the quirky side streets of Van City’s real estate market. —Darcy Matheson, Editor In Chief, BCBusiness

From Tudor ruin to maximalist masterpiece: The $20M Rosemead House makeover

I received Rob Shaw’s debrief of his time at the Rosemead House in draft mode in early July—and it came in at almost 3,000 words—way longer than anything we typically publish online on BCBusiness. Even so, I struggled to chafe off words. It was clear in the writing just how much fun Shaw had uncovering the mystery that was, in his own words: “how often does a veteran real estate developer throw caution to the wind and reinvent an old English inn as if money was no object?” Shaw’s a known voice in B.C.’s political sphere, but here, he takes a detour from his sharp analytical pieces and lurks about in this Tudor-style inn near Victoria. Part historical account, part real estate deep dive and part architectural tour—enjoy Shaw’s walkthrough, and fully expect to add Rosemead House to your bucket list for 2026. —Mihika Agarwal, Senior Editor, BCBusiness

Move over tech startups—young entrepreneurs are now buying “boring businesses”

As a Gen Z (but definitely not an entrepreneur), I find it fascinating how my generation is finding unique (or tried-and-true) ways to navigate the current employment landscape that, let’s be honest, isn’t always in our favour. The idea of buying a “boring business” like a laundromat or a dentist’s office isn’t exactly a glamorous career aspiration. But as senior editor Mihika Agarwal‘s feature from the October issue reveals, sometimes glamorous isn’t always better. These viable, once boomer-led businesses might seem simple, but they’re steady. This stability is especially important in a time when university degrees no longer guarantee employment, and simultaneously, youth unemployment rates are high. So, yes, I’m very happy for my generational peers who have found their way. — Sandrine Jacquot, Editor, BCLiving

How climate change could reshape insurance in B.C.

An insurance story as my favourite of the year? In writer Jennifer Van Evra’s hands, it’s a subject that’s incredibly compelling. Her Business Climate column is the first one I turn to each issue, and I always come away feeling just a little bit smarter and ready to drop some juicy tidbit at a future cocktail party. (Just last night, in fact, as my Uber driver told me his Tesla battery only had another year’s life left in it, I thought, but then it will live on to power some remote resort!) This story reminded me to read the fine print on my home insurance premium (which I faithfully did this year), and paints a dire picture of just how much our ongoing natural disasters are impacting insurance and the ability to purchase it in the first place. Chilling (warming?) stuff. —Anicka Quin, V.P. of Content

Review: I tried the $6,000 Cathay Pacific Aria Business Suite

No disrespect to my impressive journalist colleagues here at BCB, but for this year’s list of our fave stories, I have to shout out my own piece on testing out Cathay Pacific’s new business-class travel pods. It would be doing a disservice to you, the reader, if I lied and said my favourite article wasn’t the one where I got to take a 13-hour flight to Hong Kong wrapped in a down duvet. Who would believe that?! You deserve the truth, which is that this was a work trip that forever changed me (into someone who will cry every time she has to fly economy in the future) and I can’t stop thinking about the experience all these months later—and not just because people on Instagram were bullying me for wearing shorts on the flight.—Stacey McLachlan, BCBusiness Contributing Editor and Vancouver magazine Editor In Chief

 

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Trouble brewing: Why B.C.’s craft beer boom is going flat

As a mid-point millennial, I remember Vancouver’s craft beer boom well. Before 2010, the closest thing we had to craft beer was Granville Island Brewing (owned by Molson Coors Canada), until, suddenly, there were craft beer houses everywhere. Main Street’s Portland Craft had plenty of local brews on tap, cool new breweries were popping up everywhere in industrial spaces and the craft beer bartender rattling off tasting notes practically became a caricature. Then, fifteen years later, the booming business of beer started to circle the drain… and if you really want to know why, writer Stephen Smysniuk gets to the bottom of it all in this feature. —Kristi Alexandra, Managing Editor