Market Update: RISING ECONOMY CONFERENCE RETURNS TO VICTORIA WITH A FUTURE-SHAPING AGENDA – Full Analysis

The Two-Day Business Event That Will Sharpen Your Next 12 Months

Humaira Ahmed, founder of BestHuman and the emcee for this year’s conference.

VICTORIA – The next 12 months will test how leaders think about growth, risk and competitiveness.

Rising Economy Conference 2026, returning March 10–11 to the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort, is where Greater Victoria’s decision-makers come to recalibrate. As the region’s largest multi-sector business gathering, the two-day event convenes the people responsible for strategy, hiring, investment, innovation and policy — those actively shaping what comes next.

“As long-standing assumptions about how economies and businesses operate are being rewritten — particularly with the uncertainty south of the border — Rising Economy helps leaders gain clarity, learn from each other and move forward with confidence,” says Dallas Gislason, Executive Director, Regional Economic Development at the South Island Prosperity Partnership, producer of the conference.

Built for Leaders Navigating Real Pressure

This year’s agenda focuses on the decisions leaders are making right now. Sessions highlights include:

• Sea to Sky: Where Greater Victoria’s Economy Is Rising breaks down which sectors and initiatives are gaining momentum — and what that means for businesses positioning for success.
• The Canada Pivot: Thriving Next Door to a Disruptive Superpower examines trade, disruption and competitiveness in a volatile North American landscape.
• From Fear to Fired Up: How to Avoid Becoming Obsolete in the Age of AI cuts through AI hype and fear to focus on what leaders need to know to avoid personal and career obsolescence and remain irreplaceable.
• Leading Through Anxiety: How Leaders Win in a World That Won’t Settle Down offers a practical perspective on how organizations adapt without losing focus, build team resilience, and reduce the organizational anxiety that holds people back.

Ideas, Insights and Interactivity

Rising Economy isn’t just about issues. With the theme of Activating Possibility, the conference also features creative, interactive sessions designed to spark ideas and boost strategies in sessions designed to build energy while delivering depth — no passive listening, no long-winded panels:

• Spark Talks — concise, high-impact insights.
• Power Panels — tightly moderated, candid discussions that get to the point.
• Ask Me Anything sessions — including a live, audience-driven exchange with the mayors of Victoria, View Royal, Saanich and Sidney.
• Rapid Fire Innovation — six innovators, five minutes each, zero filler.

Watch for exciting keynote and session announcements coming soon.

The ROI Is in the Room

Since launching in 2020, Rising Economy has grown into Greater Victoria’s flagship annual business gathering, supported from the outset by Presenting Sponsor RBC and Catalyst Sponsor Vancity.

The conference has become a must-attend event for high-value, cross-sector networking in a room that includes CEOs, founders, executives, innovators, investors, public leaders and sector heads — the people making decisions about strategy, hiring, procurement, partnerships and growth in the year ahead.

If you’re responsible for where your organization goes next, this is a room you’ll want to be in.

Tickets are already 75% sold. Get yours at www.ourrisingeconomy.com.

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