IN THE KNOW:
Project Zero 2025 cohort promote circular innovation
Synergy Foundation has announced the 15 ventures graduating from its Project Zero program. The ecopreneurs pitched to investors, media, and industry professionals December 4 during the 2025 Project Zero Pitch Event.
Supported by the Discovery Foundation through their Technology Education Program, the free eight-month incubator supports founders with new circular business ideas and early-stage start-ups. The program blends entrepreneurial and operational training with ongoing mentorship to help participants build, launch and grow their ventures.
The 2025 cohort marks over 100 ventures supported through the program since its inception in 2019. Over the past six years, Incubator alumni have created more than 160 jobs and raised over $10 million in capital within BC’s green economy — demonstrating the growing impact of circular innovation across the province.
First-place winner meerkat, a members-only lend-to-borrow sharing marketplace, is tackling the high cost, underuse, and carbon footprint of outdoor gear by making sharing easier than buying. Launched last summer, the platform has already helped early users save $1,500 and prevent 200 kg of CO₂e emissions.
Second place winner SeaFoam (which also took home the COAST Pitchfest prize this year) is transforming marine biomass into high-performance, carbon-storing building insulation made from seaweed and upcycled waste.
Nimble Nest took third place with its modular shelter system that combines smart design, natural materials, and rapid assembly to make sustainable living accessible to all.
Other graduates include Cantek Harvester Innovations, Climate-Oriented Real Estate, Coast Woodcraft, CURAT Innovations, Enveloop, GreenNudge, Miha Biotech, Pronto, Raga, REbox Containers, ReGarden (Langley Plastics), , Goosebumps and SmartSustain Invest.
Canadian rents cool as Victoria sees modest relief
Canada’s average rent prices have dipped for the first time in nearly two years, and tenants in Greater Victoria are finally seeing a bit of relief after a long stretch of record highs.
The latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation shows that the average asking rent for all residential properties across Canada fell 3.1% year-over-year in November, to $2,074. It’s the first national annual decline since 2021, signaling a potential cooling after years of steep increases.
In Victoria, the average asking rent dropped slightly compared to last year, coming in at about $2,330 for a one-bedroom and $2,940 for a two-bedroom unit. While those prices still rank among the priciest in the country, they represent a modest decline following several years of record-setting growth across the Capital Region.
In contrast, Nanaimo’s rental prices have held relatively steady, averaging around $2,080 for a one-bedroom and $2,460 for a two-bedroom, with strong demand continuing to pressure the city’s tight rental market.
Across much of the Island, market watchers attribute the modest easing in some communities to slower in-migration, rising rental supply from new completions, and affordability limits reached after years of increases.
“After years of relentless upward momentum, Victoria’s market is showing tentative signs of balance,” the report noted. “Still, availability remains historically low compared to demand.”
Langford Council sees pushback against property tax freeze
Langford’s bid to keep taxes in check has set up a tense debate over how to pay for policing, fire protection and fast-growing infrastructure needs.
The city’s draft 2025–2029 financial plan originally called for a 14.51% property tax increase next year—about $30 more a month for the average homeowner—driven largely by the cost of five additional RCMP officers, rising E-Comm 911 dispatch fees downloaded from senior governments, and new fire staff recommended in the city’s master plan.
Major capital projects, including Latoria Road upgrades, sidewalk infill and the Westhills Langford Aquatic Centre add further pressure as Langford’s population climbs past 58,000.
In response to public concern and political pressure to soften the blow, council has spent weeks combing through the numbers, trimming and deferring where possible.
The 2025 tax hike has been pared back to 11.96% by shifting some capital spending to reserves, delaying aquatic centre rent on the tax roll and scaling back technology and other non-essential upgrades, while smaller items like fountain repairs and some community programming were put on the table for potential cuts.
Staff, however, have warned that deeper reductions would begin to erode front-line services, particularly policing, bylaw and fire, at a time when growth-related demands are rising.
The political flashpoint is a proposed 2026 tax freeze raised in council discussions and highlighted in coverage of the debate, with Langford’s finance director cautioning that holding the line for a year would have a “very significant” long-term impact by depleting reserves and forcing steeper increases down the road. Supporters of the freeze frame it as relief for residents already squeezed by inflation and housing costs, while critics argue it would amount to kicking the can down the road on core services and aging infrastructure.
For now, Langford still boasts some of the lowest property taxes in the Capital Region, but the clash between political appetite for restraint and the hard math of growth is shaping up to define the city’s next five-year budget cycle.
B.C.’s trade gateway advantage to support modest growth, forecasters say
B.C.’s economy is expected to post modest but steady growth over the next few years, with private-sector forecasters pointing to the province’s trade gateway position and diversified exports as key strengths amid global uncertainty.
This is according to B.C.’s Economic Forecast Council, a group of 13 independent forecasters that meets annually with the finance minister to help inform upcoming budgets.
The council projects B.C.’s real GDP will grow by 1.4% in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026, with medium-term growth around 2%, roughly in line with the Province’s own outlook. It notes that U.S. tariffs and lower immigration are expected to temper growth, with the impacts felt most in trade-exposed and targeted sectors such as forestry.
At the meeting, forecasters highlighted significant potential in B.C.’s natural-resource sector and the opportunity to leverage major projects, innovation and investment to support jobs and economic expansion. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said the government is working to build on the province’s strengths, even as shifting U.S. trade policy adds uncertainty, and will use the council’s updated forecasts as it prepares Budget 2026, scheduled for release in February.
FROM THE PAGES OF DOUGLAS:
The 2025 VIEA Economic Summit delivered a clear message that Vancouver Island’s future depends on productivity, not population.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
DECEMBER
December 18: INSPIRE Conference
JANUARY
January 22 – Feb 8: Dine Around & Stay in Town
January 26 – 28: 2026 IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism Summit
January 29: Joint Chamber Mixer
FEBRUARY
February 26: Culinaire
MARCH
March 10 – 11: Rising Economy conference
APRIL
April 1: VIATEC Awards
April 30 – May 3: Design Victoria
Douglas Weekly brings local business news, insights and community spotlights to keep Victoria and Vancouver Island In the Know. Got a story tip? Email us.
