VANCOUVER’S AMAZON BID GETS $50K FROM PROVINCE

B.C.’s government is contributing $50,000 to support Metro Vancouver’s effort to woo Amazon into selecting the city as the site for its second headquarters.

“I want to ensure that Amazon HQ2 comes to British Columbia,” said Premier John Horgan at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Friday.

The cash influx will help Metro Vancouver partners, including the cities of Surrey and Vancouver, prepare a submission to house the Amazon campus.

The province’s fast-growing tech sector is already home to several American companies and offers unlimited possibilities for technology firms like Amazon, Horgan said.

B.C. will also consider supporting proposals from other cities in the province. Langford, a city on Vancouver Island, and other communities on the southern part of the Island are preparing to submit bids.

Earlier this month, the tech titan announced it is hunting for a site for a second North American headquarters, which would employ up to 50,000 people and comes with a planned US$5-billion investment.

Several Canadian cities have expressed interest already, including Toronto, Halifax, Winnipeg, Montreal and Edmonton. Amazon is accepting responses to its request for proposals until Oct. 19.

The Canadian Press