Business Retention & Expansion Survey

The Economic Development department of the City of Maple Ridge is conducting the BR&E survey. Partner organizations, such as the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association (DMRBIA) and Ridge Meadows Chamber of Commerce, are supporting the promotion of the survey to their member businesses.

We’re looking to survey Maple Ridge businesses of all sizes and in all industry sectors, including home-based businesses and farming operations. Due to the nature of the survey, it is best if we can speak with the owners, managers, and/or operators of the business.

The survey can be done in-person or remotely through a virtual meeting.

• In-person: An Economic Development team member will travel to survey participants
• Virtual meeting: An Economic Development team member will connect with survey participants on a video call through Teams or Zoom

The survey should take no more than 60 minutes to complete and is done in a conversational style. If done in-person at your location, we're always happy to take a tour of your facility to learn more about what you do.

Some of the survey questions will ask about your workforce (e.g., # of employees, full-time vs part-time), sales/revenues (recent and forecast), and facility/location (e.g., floor/land area, lease expiry), so you may want to have that information handy.

Survey responses will be entered into the City’s online engagement platform, Engage Maple Ridge, in a private section that only select City staff can access. Responses from individual surveys will be analysed in aggregated form and anonymized before any reporting takes place.

Data will be used by the City to understand the needs of the local business community and how best to serve, support, and advocate on their behalf.

During the survey, you will be invited to provide contact details and other potentially identifiable information. While you are not obligated to provide any of that information, not doing so may prevent us from following up on specific concerns or opportunities identified through the survey.

No. Participation in the survey is entirely voluntary, and questions can be skipped if a participant prefers not to provide a response. However, the more businesses participating and the more complete the responses, the more accurate the information and analysis will be.

The Economic Development office is not involved in the regulation or licensing of businesses, and information from the survey that could identify a specific business will not be shared with other City departments or external organizations unless required by law.

Surveys by other government agencies, like Statistics Canada or BC Stats, do not capture the sort of information sought through the BR&E survey. The data is not granular enough to provide an accurate local picture.

In many cases where similar data may be collected, reports will combine results from Maple Ridge with other communities, which does not allow for Maple Ridge-specific analysis.

Business and personal and information entered as part of the BR&E survey is collected under the authority of section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) and will be used to deliver programs and services to the local business community and identify economic development opportunities (including business retention & expansion and investment attraction, among others). If you have any questions or concerns about how your information will be used, contact the City of Maple Ridge FOI Office by calling 604-466-4300 or by emailing FOI@MapleRidge.ca