Cities like Nanaimo are increasingly shifting toward a service-based knowledge economy (SBKE), where economic growth is driven by ideas, innovation, and expertise rather than traditional goods production. In today’s knowledge-driven cities, sectors such as healthcare, education, professional services, and construction play a central role in creating high-skill jobs and supporting sustainable development. While Nanaimo continues to rely on traditional industries and natural resources, its transition to a knowledge-intensive economy positions the city for long-term resilience, innovation, and inclusive prosperity.
Nanaimo’s Knowledge-Economy Anchors
Nanaimo’s SBKE is anchored in healthcare and social services, education, professional/scientific/technical services, and construction. These areas already account for much of Nanaimo’s employment and are among the fastest-growing parts of the economy.
Sectors Driving the Transition
Healthcare and education provide thousands of stable, high-skill jobs, while professional and scientific services are expanding alongside new technologies and digital infrastructure. Construction, once viewed strictly as a goods-producing sector, is becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive, with advances in building, design, and engineering. Together, these sectors demonstrate how knowledge-driven services are shaping Nanaimo’s future beyond extraction or single-industry reliance.
Redefining Prosperity Beyond GDP
An SBKE is more than industry diversification: it is fertile ground for reimagining the foundation of an economy. Prosperity is no longer measured solely by traditional outputs like extraction, exports, or GDP. Instead, it’s increasingly about balancing people, planet, and profit in ways that value well-being, environmental sustainability, and economic success together. In practice, this can be tracked through metrics such as employment in knowledge-intensive services, educational attainment, startup activity, and R&D investment, alongside sustainability and equity indicators.
Diversity as the Engine of a Living System
A diverse economy creates the practical conditions to reexamine that foundation. When multiple knowledge-rich sectors coexist, the community gains the breathing room to experiment with regenerative practices, capture more local value, and build stronger feedback loops between institutions and residents. Cross-sector spillovers – for example, between education, healthcare, professional services, and construction – accelerate innovation, while anchor purchases, targeted training programs, and inclusive ownership models ensure the benefits are distributed locally. In short, diversity turns the economy into a living system of interdependent parts that can be steered toward sustainability, equity, and resilience.
Resilience Through Knowledge
It is this ability (to create, distribute, and apply knowledge in ways that can be regenerative, distributive, and deeply embedded in society) that defines a robust SBKE. Traditional resources remain important, but economic success is grounded in sustainability and resilience. A strong SBKE functions as a living system: diverse, inclusive, and adaptable, capable of withstanding the demands of the 21st century.
Navigating Risks and Ensuring Inclusion
For Nanaimo, this shift is not about discarding traditional sectors but about weaving them into a broader, future-ready system. At the same time, the transition to an SBKE is not without risks: uneven benefits, skill mismatches, and affordability pressures can emerge. Addressing these through targeted training programs, inclusive procurement, and equity-focused strategies ensures the benefits are widely shared.
A Future-Ready Nanaimo
When knowledge-based services are treated as both resources and shared assets, the economy evolves into a living system, becoming more equitable, sustainable, and resilient for the future. For Nanaimo, the opportunity is clear: invest in people, connect sectors, and embed sustainability into growth. By doing so, the city can position itself as a resilient, future-ready economy that works for all residents. ■