Harnessing the power of experience and connection to help Canadian SMEs grow.
Q+A with MNP
MNP prides itself on its collaborative approach to doing business and develops personalized strategies to help people and organizations succeed.
A leading national accounting, tax and business consulting firm in Canada, MNP has been a member of the South Island Prosperity Partnership since 2019.
Steve Wellburn (pictured, left) is a partner and business advisor with MNP’s private enterprise team, and Adam Taylor (pictured, right) is a partner and member of the firm’s Enterprise Risk group. Both work out of the firm’s Victoria offices and share MNP’s vision of supporting the economy of our region.
Why did you join South Island Prosperity Partnership?
Adam: We’re heavily invested in our community where we live and work and want the South Island to continue to be a fantastic place. SIPP is a leader in economic resilience in the region. Their mission and objectives are similar to ours in that we want to see where we live and work be successful and prosper and the key is encouraging people to move here, start businesses and contribute to the economy.
What do you see as key to growing a resilient, robust economic future for our region?
Steve: Education at both the secondary and post-secondary levels, economic development and a pro-business perspective from all levels of government will be the keys to a resilient future for the region.
Adam: We also need to ensure that we’re bringing all parties together for collaboration—the business community, the not-for-profit sector, all levels of government and indigenous communities.
What is our region’s secret sauce when it comes to competing internationally to attract quality talent, businesses with household sustaining jobs, and investment?
Steve: The lifestyle on South Vancouver Island allows us to enjoy the natural beauty and work in many different growing sectors, such as technology, businesses tied to the environment and food and beverage as well as the ocean and marine sector. We live in a beautiful place that attracts talent and resources.
What are you most excited about in terms of your own organization’s plans and potential?
Adam: We’re an innovative, client-focused firm with a lot of potential to help local organizations. We’re also Canadian owned, with partners and offices across the country. It’s nice to know that we’re Canadians supporting Canadians.
Steve: From my perspective as a general practitioner, the firm is positioned to help so many businesses grow and to create great opportunities for both the owners and the employees.
What’s one thing about your organization you really want people to know that they probably don’t know?
Steve: We are national and can offer a wide range of services but we are locally focused and heavily invested in our community. It’s important that we live and work here—we are part of South Island, and that allows us to understand our clients and their needs. It’s also nice to know that we can bring expertise in from around the country and offer it locally when it’s needed.
What challenges are you most invested in helping our community overcome and why?
Steve: There are a number of challenges in our community, including affordable housing for attracting talent. Our firm is focused on ensuring South Island has a robust economy so we can attract talent and investment to the region, and we do that by helping businesses grow and succeed.
What lessons have most profoundly impacted you since the pandemic sent shockwaves through our community and economy?
Adam: What we’ve seen is a need to react and adapt to change in a fast manner at all levels, personally and professionally. It’s given us opportunities to provide different services, offerings and support in an agile manner. For example, government is changing so fast to react to the pandemic with recovery programs and services and I have had the opportunity to support my clients in accessing a lot of those programs. It’s been an interesting opportunity.
When you envision the South Island region in 2040, what will have changed? What does our future look like?
Steve: We’ll see a growing, diversified economy focused on technology, eco-tourism and environmentally focused businesses, as well as growth in light industry and the food and beverage sector. We’ll also see a good mixed use of property, and Victoria Harbour is a good example, where we have residential and office buildings as well as industrial use.
Adam: I think our technology and ocean and marine sectors will grow exponentially.
To learn more about MNP, contact Steve Wellburn or Adam Taylor.