Last Updated: Sunday, March 22, 2009 | 3:28 PM PT
CBC News
An agency that helps immigrants settle in B.C. says the economic downturn has led to more wealthy Chinese people moving to the province.
While statistics aren't available, SUCCESS CEO Thomas Tam said more wealthy business people have immigrated to B.C. in recent months because they now have time to go through the process.
"In the good economic times, all those business people are busy making money and they don't have time for immigration, because time is money," he said.
"But during the slow time, that's a time for them to look for immigration options for their family, for their children."
And those wealthy immigrants mean cash for businesses like MCL Motorcars in Vancouver, which sells high-end vehicles.
"We sell Bentleys, Aston Martins, Porsches, Jaguars and Land Rovers. I guess our lowest-price cars start [around] $70,000, and go from there [up to] $300,000 and better," manager John Chesman said.
The $300,000 cars are selling despite the downturn, Chesman said, thanks to new clientele.
"Most of our current customers are new Canadians from mainland China," he said.
Tam said the new immigrants are good news for B.C. at a time when the government is advocating more trade with Asia-Pacific countries.
