British Columbia

B.C. to lead Canada with 3% growth this year

B.C. will lead the country in economic growth this upcoming year, according to a forecast from the Conference Board of Canada.

Conference Board of Canada says Manitoba, Ontario will also have strong economies

B.C.'s diverse exports have kept its economy growing during rough economic times, according to Finance Minister Mike de Jong. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

B.C. will lead the country in economic growth this upcoming year, according to a forecast from the Conference Board of Canada.

The board is predicting the provincial economy will grow by three per cent in 2015.

"British Columbia will be among the economic growth leaders, with Manitoba and Ontario, over the next two years," said associate director Marie-Christine Bernard in a statement released on Monday morning.

"The lower Canadian dollar, the acceleration in U.S. economic growth and stronger consumer confidence will provide the foundation for these provinces to easily outpace the Canadian economic growth of less than two per cent this year."

The housing market in B.C. is not expected to experience a slowdown, as more people move to B.C. from other provinces, according to the forecast, but the board says there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the development of the liquefied natural gas industry in the province.

B.C. is also the only province to post a surplus budget so far this year.