Hi-Tech  

Industry Snapshot

The hi-tech sector in Kamloops is very diverse.  More than 200 hi-tech firms are located in the Thompson Shuswap Area and the number of job opportunities in the hi-tech sector is increasing.  Kamloops is home to call centers, data centers, software providers, technology support services, and many research organizations.  We have four long distance and international telecommunications service providers in the area.

Competitive Advantages

Kamloops is an IT committed community that is ideally positioned to support IT industry of all types.  Kamloops is considered to be on par with major metropolitan areas in terms of communications infrastructure.  An extensive fibre optic network allows the ability to provide high-speed digital voice and data access.  Because both the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways pass through the city, Kamloops is located on most of the Canadian transcontinental fibre optic cable routes.  As such, Bell, Telus, Big Pipe (Shaw), and BCNET all have major fibre access locations in Kamloops.

You can find a diverse and highly skilled labour pool in Kamloops.  Home to Thompson Rivers University (TRU), "Canada's most comprehensive community", TRU graduates over 1,200 students a year.  The School of Advanced Technologies and Mathematics provides instruction ranging from the very applied to the quite theoretical.  The school consists of the following departments: Computing Science, Computer Information Systems Technology, Digital Art & Design, Electronics & Engineering, Architectural & Engineering Technology, and Mathematics & Statistics.

BCNET has been working to design phase I of the network expansion plans for Kamloops.  BCNET will be providing fiber ready capability in each new community; ensuring capacity upgrades for higher-performance networks can be achieved.  By 2010, BCNET has mapped out gigabit light paths between cities, providing more bandwidth and speed than ever before. 

A number if independent IT businesses have formed a local Interior Technology Industry Association that will take a business first approach to fostering the growth of Kamloops' IT industry.  

Incentives

Established in 1999, the Interior Science Innovation Council (ISIC) is a not-for-profit society working to promote, develop and enhance economic and community development in the Central Interior of British Columbia.  The ISIC is about enabling opportunities for using science and technology as a catalyst for commercialization and also creating and promoting a culture of knowledge, awareness and entrepreneurial excitement in the fields of science and technology.  It provides many services, for both entrepreneurs as well as industry and the region, some of which are providing leadership and direction, sector analysis, research on key regional issues, hosting special events, increasing networking opportunities, outlining Science and Technology available funding and direction for management.  

The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) supports research projects on a selective basis with grants ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 per annum.  

The Scientific Research and Experimental Tax Credit (SR&ED) is a federal incentive that gives Canadian Controlled Private Corporations a refundable investment tax credit of 35% up to the first $2 million of SR&ED expenditures and a non-refundable 20% on any amount over $2 million.  Other Canadian corporations can earn a 20% non-refundable tax credit.

Testimonials

"Kamloops has been a fantastic location for ideaLEVER for almost 15 years.  It has great access to fibre optics for our datacentre and a fantastic computer program at TRU providing high quality graduates.  Add all of that to the low cost of living and great recreation on our doorstep and Kamloops is a natural choice for any business."

Rob Stocks, President, ideaLEVER

"iCompass has been in business for almost 11 years now.  We chose to move our business to Kamloops 10 years ago for a number of reasons.  Kamloops boasts an outstanding all year round lifestyle, excellent talent from our local Thompson Rivers University, and an overall lower cost of living and doing business.  Kamloops also has a fantastic climate and is ideal for a variety of activities during all four seasons of the year.  We are in close proximity to unlimited outdoor recreation opportunities, a variety of state of the art indoor sports facilities, and vast amounts of local parks and hiking trails - all of which is very important to our staff, many of whom have moved here from other parts of Canada and indeed the world.  Kamloops has served our business well and we look forward to many more years of business in this great city!"

Todd Stone, CEO & President, iCompass Technologies

Resource Organizations

High Technology in British Columbia 
Kamloops Community Network
Interior Technology Industry Association 
TRU Research