The year 2015 will be a promising one for Squamish. We’re one of Canada’s most vibrant communities with new leadership and an emerging entrepreneurial spirit.
According to Statistics Canada, this municipality has one of the youngest populations in Canada, and it’s growing rapidly, as anyone trying to find housing here will attest. The real estate listings are scant, and it’s challenging to find an apartment to rent.
The baby boom is evident not only in the carriages on the streets but in the backpack baby carriers on the trails, as many of the young parents are also athletic. You see babies a few weeks old being transported by parents even on steep hikes such as the Stawamus Chief. And everywhere in town, you see strollers.
Squamish also has a new, intelligent, educated council to help lead the district forward. In a town or in a city, municipal elections do not always attract the best and the brightest candidates because politics can be a thankless job, involving endless meetings that take one away from family, and the public’s criticism often stings. In other areas, people who are dynamic and well educated shy away from politics, leaving councils to be run by others who are less capable.
Squamish, however, has an engaged populace and the elections this past fall attracted a healthy number of competitors for the mayoral, councillor and school board trustee seats. The result, so far, seems to be a council keen to move Squamish into a promising future. It’s early in the term to make a judgment, but to date, the council seems to be moving forward positively and asking questions on behalf of the citizens who elected them.
Squamish also has a new rec tech sector, in addition to the housing boom and other potential developments for the local economy. With the help of the new Startup Squamish incubator and companies like Pinkbike moving to town, we expect to see more promising signs ahead for this region.
There’s plenty of reasons for optimism in Squamish as 2015 begins. Happy New Year.
