Biz-Biz

You’ve heard of Show Biz. This is Biz Biz, the history of business in Vancouver, told through the activities of The Vancouver Board of Trade. The Board began in 1887 (details here), and for all those 120 years has been promoting the economic interests of the city, sponsoring charitable events, presenting notable speakers (recent examples include the minister of national defence, the head of Canada Post, the chief executive of the Port of Vancouver, many many more), commissioning studies of a broad range of topics (like the provision of affordable housing, or the growth in rates of property crime), bringing business people together to form new networks, advising small business, promoting Vancouver abroad . . . the plate is always full.

Researching the earliest years of the Vancouver Board of Trade turns out to be more interesting than we’d anticipated. Most of us know at least a little of the history of The Board’s first president, David Oppenheimer (who was also the city’s second mayor), but another figure pops up in those early years whose name has almost vanished into an undeserved obscurity. He was Robert Clark, a city alderman and haberdasher….

Business through the years...

For a once-over-lightly look at the history of The Vancouver Board of Trade, go here.