Well, 2020 in Vancouver.

It was memorable, we’ll give it that. It was that rare year when even as people were living in the throes of its undulations, they imagined what it would be like recounting to future generations just how crazy things were. Masks, business closures, watching the daily infection-rate announcements like they were must-see TV. This list tries to capture some of the people who helped (and are still helping) Vancouver navigate the greatest public health threat in half a century. But it also recognizes that there was more than COVID: there was a scary ramp up in the opioid crisis, a social justice call to arms, an improbable spike in real estate prices and a hundred other issues that made Vancouver the always-compelling place to live that it is.

Written by Nathan Caddell, Alyssa Hirose, Stacey McLachlan, Neal McLennan and Matt O’Grady.

1. Dr. Bonnie Henry

Provincial Health Officer
NEW

What can we say that hasn’t been said already?

Usually there’s considerable debate among our insiders as to who should take the number one spot on this list. Not this year. B.C.’s top doctor became a household name across the province (if not the country) with her calm, measured approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, our early success against the virus respective to other provinces meant a months-long love affair with Dr. Bonnie—murals, masks, mugs, posters, shoes and tote bags bearing her name or likeness can be seen all over the city. Heck, the New York Times ran a fawning profile of her.

Of course, something had to give, and there have been a few cracks in the foundation. Henry has seen negative reactions to her work that range from the unhinged (death threats) to the reasonable, with some criticizing her refusal to mandate masks and the government’s approach to opening up schools. There have also been complaints that the province isn’t giving out enough data when it comes to which communities have been most affected.

In the end, this year was headlined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the doctor we trusted to guide us through it and those six words she kept repeating: Be Calm, Be Kind, Be Safe. Even if some of us stopped listening.

2. John Horgan

Premier of B.C.
Previously #3, 2019

Until this fall, we’d call Premier Horgan’s biggest move of 2020 simply letting health minister Adrian Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry take the reins—though he and finance minister Carole James have tried to steer the province through some ambitious relief measures for low-income individuals, renters and businesses. For that, he had some of the best ratings of any political leader in Canada during COVID (a 69 percent approval in late August). Good time for a snap election call, even one that breaks an agreement with the Green Party and has voters heading to crowded polling stations in the teeth of the second wave? Yeah, a really good time, as it turns out.

3. Adrian Dix

B.C. Health Minister
Previously #5, 2012

After years of being overshadowed by fellow cabinet ministers like David Eby, Carole James and Mike Farnworth, the former party leader was thrust into the spotlight (okay, he was slightly stage left of it) by COVID-19. His calm, serious and informed approach to the pandemic earned national applause and re-established Dix as one of the true faces of an NDP government that has moved like a well-oiled machine since he resigned as leader. Of course, as health minister he has come under fire for his treatment—or lack thereof—of the other pandemic: the opioid crisis. Critics argue he essentially handed it off to mental health and addictions minister Judy Darcy.

4. Darren Entwistle

CEO, Telus
Previously #4, 2019

Sometimes making this list is as simple as being universally regarded as a person who ably steers a massive financial powerhouse. In the case of Telus CEO Darren Entwistle, that’s underscored by the fact that Telus is the province’s largest public company, and that even the most jaded corporate raider agrees that his stewardship has been admirable. COVID slammed Telus in Q2 (though they still managed to beat industry expectations for new mobile and internet customers), but the company’s proactive and sympathetic reaction to the pandemic became more of a story than the dip in share price. And the CEO’s ongoing big bet on health care seems more prescient with every month.

5. Anonymous

The Whistle-blowers
NEW

We’re accustomed to the concept of power being personified, but what the past year has shown is that one person with a grievance and a laptop can be Bill Gates, Gandhi and the Rock combined, if their message rings true and strikes the right chord with the audience at large. Just ask Matchstick, Parallel49 and others who found themselves the focus of anonymous Instagram campaigns. Whether the trigger is a tyrant running a small business, a manager who attempts to explain away a racist incident or a work environment that is simply toxic, more shareholder value, personal investment and long-term goodwill has been wiped out this year as a result of a well-placed tweet or biting comment online than from any more sophisticated financial mechanism. And while many under this rubric are proudly not anonymous, as a collective movement they’ve brought power back to the masses in a way not seen since, well, ever. Who is anonymous? It’s any person the wrongdoer is thinking about when they wake up at 3 a.m.

6. MST Development Corporation

Real Estate Developers
Previously #1, 2019

In a less eventful year, it’s possible MST would have held on to the top spot. After all, not too much has changed for the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations’ real estate conglomerate. The 90-acre Jericho Lands project is going ahead, but a comprehensive plan isn’t expected until 2021. The only blemish on the corporation’s record is that its desire (with the City and UBC) to get the Broadway Subway Line extended to the university has so far been ignored.

7. Tamara Vrooman

Former CEO, Vancity;  CEO, Vancouver International Airport Authority; Chancellor, SFU
Previously #30, 2019

Vrooman is corporate B.C.’s go-to crisis manager: in 2007, she was hired by Vancity as North America sank into the Great Recession; this July, Vrooman took the reins at Canada’s second biggest airport following an unprecedented collapse in global travel. With YVR’s year-over-year traffic down over 60 percent by early September, she was quick to act: halting all capital expansion projects at the airport, including the termination of a mega-project in which $525 million in work had already been done. As if she didn’t have enough to keep her busy, Vrooman also became the 12th chancellor of SFU in June.

8. Black Liberation Movement

Collective Movement
NEW

t’s a tricky thing to recognize a group once again on this list, but the fight against anti-Black racism in Vancouver is the work of a diverse and diasporic community, not of any one specific individual. Still, we’ve got to name a few. Black Freedom Society founders Nova Stevens and Shamika Mitchell organized 6,000 people to march for Juneteenth. Activist Stephanie Allen (#47 on last year’s list) continuously advocates for our city’s Black community as a founding member of the Hogan’s Alley Society. Cicely Belle Blain (#50, 2018), co-founder of BLM Vancouver, remains a sought-after voice with their consulting firm, which specializes in diversity and inclusion training. They are just a few of the people reminding us what power really means.

9. Dr. Carl Hansen

CEO, AbCellera Biologics Inc.
NEW

AbCellera jumped onto the front pages of Canadian newspapers in May, when the federal government gave Dr. Carl Hansen and his team at the privately held Vancouver biotech company $175.6 million to research COVID antibodies and build technology and manufacturing infrastructure for a potential future vaccine or treatment. In other words: AbCellera, at this point in time, might be our best bet at beating this thing. With so many hopes pinned on the company, it’s reassuring to see a seasoned pro like Hansen at the helm. He’s an inventor of over 50 U.S. patents and 63 applications that are represented in seven commercial products. And, until August 2019, he was a professor at UBC, where he co-authored over 65 manuscripts in the fields of microfluidics, immunology, genomics and nanotechnology. And Trudeau and co. aren’t the only ones with confidence in AbCellera’s antibody therapy efforts: a potential U.S. IPO is
in the works for later this year.

10. Aquilini Family

Aquilini Investment Group
Previously #13, 2019

The Vancouver Canucks essentially played three playoff rounds this year, something they haven’t done since 2011. But, of course, the family that owns the city’s biggest sports franchise wasn’t able to collect revenue from the run. While crowds might be slow to come back to Rogers Arena, the future looks fairly bright for both the team and the family, as the Aquilinis are becoming a major force in the world of e-sports, and their real estate developments in Kelowna and Squamish are moving forward. A partnership on two projects with MST Development Corp. doesn’t hurt either.

11. Bob Rennie

Rennie Marketing
Previously #11, 2019

To the extent that the international art world knows our fair town, it’s not because of the VAG (whose new building seems to be ebbing away and whose announcement of a new curator was met with a collective “Who?”). It’s because  Rennie’s private museum in Chinatown’s Wing Sang building has quietly become one of the most influential in the world, a point underscored by the recent exhibition featuring his deep collection of iconic Black artists Barkley L. Hendricks and Lorna Simpson, which, given the current climate, might have been the most influential show in North America this past year. And while Rennie Marketing Systems had a tough year due to COVID, Rennie made sure that everyone was kept on with full pay (the increase in detached listings for his growing real estate brokerage was a plus). And then there’s his personal connections—in a Venn diagram of the names on this list, the overlap in the middle might very well be Rennie, who’s legendary for knowing and chatting with everyone in town.

12. Frank Giustra

Multiple Industries
Previously #12, 2019

It speaks to Giustra’s influence that he could have made this list with just one of any of the hats he wears. As a mining magnate, his Leagold merged with Equinox Gold in a $670-million deal. As an entertainment titan, his Thunderbird Entertainment Group saw revenues jump 40 percent in Q3 with increased interest in its family programming. As a philanthropist, the year saw his Giustra Foundation continue to be a major force and benefactor in the areas of journalism programs, meals for vulnerable seniors and international refugee settlement. And as humanitarian, he was appointed co-chair of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, a globally respected organization dedicated to international conflict resolution. Any of these are impressive, but added together it makes him a multidimensional powerhouse. We don’t even need to mention the debunked rumours that Harry and Meghan were camped out at his house on Vancouver Island.

13. Dr. Patricia Daly + Penny Ballem

Chief Medical Officer and Board Chair, Vancouver Coastal Health
Previously #6, 2019; #14, 2014

Daly and Ballem are two of the most influential voices in the dual epidemics of our time: COVID-19 and the opioid crisis. While the health authority got credit for early success in taming COVID, infection rates roared back by fall—and VCH came under criticism for its selective approach to releasing case numbers, especially in schools. As for overdose-related fatalities, VCH struggled to limit the years-long carnage, with 259 deaths in the first eight months of 2020 compared to 247 in all of 2019. Daly herself admitted in April that COVID prevention measures were hurting efforts to contain the fentanyl outbreak.

14. Chris Gardner

President, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association
Previously #17, 2019

It speaks to how disorganized the BC Liberal Party is that the person many see as the chief government critic isn’t party leader Andrew Wilkinson or any other Liberal MLA, but Gardner, who, as president of the over 3,000-member-strong ICBA, is frequently vocal about government policies that are perceived to be anti-business. The past year has seen ups (construction continued during COVID, unlike in other jurisdictions) and downs (the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the NDP’s Community Benefits Agreement, which favours union workers for major public works), but Gardner continues to be a touchstone for the right of centre in the province.

15. Glen Clark + Jimmy Pattison

President/COO and chairman/CEO, Jim Pattison Group
Previously #8, 2019

Every year, there’s another profile written on Jimmy Pattison—and each time, there’s that question about succession. He was asked again this year—his 92nd on the planet—and confirmed to Bloomberg that, yes, he’s picked a successor, and, no, he won’t name names—though former Premier Glen Clark, his loyal No. 2, remains the odds-on favourite. Pattison’s privately held conglomerate had almost $12 billion in revenue last year, and while the pandemic took a big bite out of some businesses (like Ripley Entertainment), a strong cash position makes Pattison a likely buyer—not seller—in the coming months.

16. Terry Hui

CEO, Concord Pacific
Previously #20, 2019

In a year that was, by Vancouver standards, quiet on the real estate front, Hui and his Concord Pacific stood out, with a blockbuster $1-billion purchase of the massive St. Paul’s Hospital site. Concord Pacific is Canada’s largest community developer, and the St. Paul’s redevelopment promises to be pivotal for downtown—with residential, commercial and industrial uses all on the table. Concord has also been busy elsewhere in the past 12 months, from the Lower Mainland to Toronto, and from Seattle to London, England, where its Principal Tower—designed by Foster + Partners—was completed just before the new year.

17. Angela Sterritt

Journalist
NEW

Gitxsan journalist Angela Sterritt’s 18 years of industrious reporting (including award-winning work on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) has been leaps and bounds ahead of the mainstream media in her coverage of local police brutality. Her CBC story on an Indigenous man and his granddaughter being handcuffed after trying to open a bank account garnered international attention back in January, forcing both the police and the downtown Vancouver BMO branch to apologize. Today, Sterritt is one of the most respected voices in Canadian media, and we’re looking to her for in-depth coverage on the stuff that matters.

18. Chris (Syeta’xtn) Lewis

Councillor/Spokesperson, Squamish Nation; Chair, SFU Board of Governors
NEW

This has been something of a banner year for Lewis, the longtime Squamish Nation councillor who replaced Dustin Rivers (Khelsilem) as spokesperson in June, months after he was named chair of SFU’s board of directors. It’s Lewis’s second term as spokesperson (he served from 2013 to 2017) and he got off to a running start in August when the Nation announced it would be guaranteeing all staff and contractors a living wage going forward. The move meant a pay boost for more than a third of its 300-some workers and underscores Lewis’s desire to have the Squamish Nation take a leadership role on both social and economic issues in the years to come.

19. Ian Tostenson

President/CEO, BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association
NEW

One of the most vocal sectors to be slammed by COVID was the restaurant industry, and Tostenson, as head of the BCRFA, was one of the loudest, most front-and-centre voices, not only speaking about how the pandemic was impacting his constituents but also underscoring just how big a contributor the sector is to the provincial economy. Both the provincial and city governments seemed to listen—patios were approved, antiquated liquor laws were relaxed. Whether it will be enough to save large chunks of the industry remains to be seen, and Tostenson is frequently critiqued that he’s more interested in the big chains than the small operators. But there’s no doubt that his lobbying has moved the industry in a direction that will benefit everyone who’s running a kitchen.

20. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip

President, Union of BC Indian Chiefs
Previously #23, 2019

It’s been a year like no other in terms of social justice coming to the mainstream forefront, and as the province and its citizens figure out how to grapple with a history of oppression of Indigenous peoples, there are few who can lead with the bona fides and authority of Grand Chief Phillip. Now in his 22nd year as president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, he has always struck a path that balances activism with pragmatism, and his voice is one that an entire generation of both political and business leaders feel they can rely on in moving forward. This year saw his support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs lend ballast to their fight against pipeline expansion, as well as support for Indigenous communities setting up their own independent controls to restrict COVID transmission in their territory.

21. Anthony von Mandl

Founder/CEO, Mark Anthony Group
Previously #47, 2014

That von Mandl has stayed off this list for so long is a testament to the quietness with which he employs his power. The worldwide phenom that is White Claw finally arrived in Canada this year, with most consumers having no idea that it was von Mandl’s brainchild from the start (one that he wisely chose to deploy in America first). Likewise unknown is that the rising star of Irish whiskey—Glendalough—is also another of his holdings. And while his Mission Hill maintains dominance of the national wine industry at both the medium and high ends, he’s also added Road 13, Liquidity and an ascendant CedarCreek to his Okanagan holdings—all of which are deep into the transition to organic farming.

22. Geoff Meggs

Chief of Staff,, B.C. Premier’s Office
Previously #22, 2019

It’s been a relatively quiet year for Meggs—at least in terms of media coverage—but there’s no question that one of John Horgan’s most trusted aides had a strong say in the premier’s choice to call a provincial election in October. The former Vision Vancouver councillor and veteran political operator has built a career on savvy timing and must have been salivating at the prospect of a majority government staring directly at him. His chips were on the table—and he cashed in big. 

23. David Eby

Attorney General
Previously #5, 2019

The AG is coming off two strong showings on this list (#1 in 2018, #5 last year) and while no one is saying he’s a non-entity, the days when he seemed a shoo-in to replace a bland John Horgan seem distant. Sure, his defence of ICBC is a thankless task, but where’s that vibrant non-politician everyone fell in love with? At least he’s stepped up for the restaurant industry, loosening antiquated liquor laws and calling for caps on delivery fee services. (So we’re pretty certain he’ll always get a reservation.)

24. Jeanette Jackson + Merran Smith

CEO, Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre; Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada
NEW

While these two work separately, jointly they represent the greatest chance for a green business revolution in the province. Jackson leads a team dedicated to making B.C. the go-to locale for green technology companies—an industry that’s expected to be worth $1 trillion in the near term. Smith is working the same angle to help Canada shed its dependence on fossil fuels, and she’s made a reputation as someone who can balance both business and activist goals, earning her the ear and trust of the PM, among others.

25. Ryan Reynolds + Seth Rogen

Actors
NEW; previously #45, 2018 (Rogen)

Our city’s Hollywood sweethearts haven’t forgotten their rainy roots, even amid the pandemic. In July, Reynolds helped reunite a local woman with her stolen teddy bear. In September, he announced a new local initiative for BIPOC film trainees that will be paid out of his own salary. And Rogen told us to stay home and smoke weed (via Twitter). Both heeded the call from our premier to help the knuckle draggers learn how to social distance and wear masks. Thanks, boys—you’re great ambassadors.

26. Brandt Louie

Chair, London Drugs; president and CEO, H.Y. Louie
Previously #39, 2018

Our sister publication, BCBusiness, lists the CEO of the Top 100 companies in the province each year, and only one name appears twice: Brandt Louie, with H.Y. Louie Co. (#7) and London Drugs (#20). Let that sink in for a bit. COVID brought increased profits to both the London Drugs and IGA/Fresh Street Market stores the family runs and they saw little of the blowback other retailers experienced for clawing back increased wages. The past months have seen the reserved Louie speak out about racism and other social issues his family faced over their century-long ascendency in B.C.

27. Teri Mooring

President, BC Teachers’ Federation
NEW

The first wave of COVID had much of the province rallying around our frontline workers and applauding their sacrifice, but the second wave is seeing the 45,000-plus members of the BCTF head back to school under circumstances that are miles away from ideal. Even in “normal” years, president Mooring wields significant power to disrupt the day-to-day flow of the province through job action, and this fall and the coming months have a high chance to see some major tussling over teacher safety and responsibility as the pandemic continues to dominate life in B.C.

28. Jas Johal

MLA
Previously #42, 2019