British Columbia has lost 12,400 manufacturing jobs since 2017, and the lack of investment in the sector is “nearing crisis levels,” warns the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME). In a special report, the CME points to a worrisome decline in investment in manufacturing in B.C. In 2000, manufacturing accounted for 9.5 per cent of B.C.’s GDP. In 2023, it had dropped to just 5.7 per cent of GDP. …“As a province we can no longer ignore the negative trends we have seen over the past several years,” said Andrew Wynn-Williams, the CME’s divisional vice president for B.C. …In B.C., manufacturing is dominated by wood product manufacturing (lumber, engineered wood products, pulp and paper), followed by food processing, machinery, and fabricated metal products. Given the decline B.C.’s forestry sector has experienced in the last few years, it’s perhaps not surprising to see the sector’s numbers plummet so dramatically. But it’s not just wood manufacturing that is ailing.