Overview
The Pacific Region is home to the largest nexus of international trade infrastructure in Canada, including Canada’s busiest marine port and second busiest airport, which offer some of the shortest and most competitive ocean and air routes between Asia and North America.
The four Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) in the Region — Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Prince Rupert, and Vancouver, handle close to 180 million tonnes of cargo — over half of the total shipping volumes from all CPAs. The Port of Vancouver, the largest port in Canada, handled 147 million tonnes of cargo in 2022 — four times the volume of the next largest port in Canada. The Port of Vancouver handles about 1 out of every 3 dollars of Canadian trade to outside of North America.
The region is home to four airports that are part of the National Airport System -Kelowna, Prince George, Vancouver International Airport (YVR), and Victoria. YVR, the region’s largest airport is a significant mover of passengers and a key cog in the supply chain system. Pre-pandemic (2019), YVR facilitated the movement of 26 million passengers and 303,000 tonnes of cargo. YVR is served by 55 airlines, connecting passengers to 125 destinations. The region is also home to one of the world’s largest scheduled floatplane operators (Harbour Air) and Canada’s largest passenger helicopter service (Helijet).
The region’s transportation and trade interests are supported by an extensive, interconnected rail network. The Region has three Class I railways (Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and BNSF Railway) and four passenger rail services (Amtrak, Rocky Mountaineer, VIA Rail, and West Coast Express) that operate on over 6,300 kilometers of track including through challenging geotechnical terrain.
Profile
Robert Dick
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pacific Region
Robert Dick - Assistant Deputy Minister, Pacific Region
Based in Vancouver, Robert Dick is the Assistant Deputy Minister for the Pacific Region, overseeing all of Transport Canada’s programs and operations in the region.
Before joining the department’s team in British Columbia, Robert served in Ottawa as the Director General of Air Policy. In that position, he was responsible for Canada’s Permanent Mission to the International Civil Aviation Organization, international air policy, and domestic aviation sector policies related to air carriers, airports and air navigation services.
Robert has nine years’ experience working in various roles in the Privy Council Office. He has also worked at Public Safety Canada on national cyber security and western economic diversification.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pacific Region: Robert Dick
Number of employees: 534
Offices: 10 offices throughout British Columbia.
- Regional Headquarters in Vancouver
- 9 offices throughout the Region:
- Abbotsford;
- Kelowna;
- Nanaimo;
- Prince George;
- Prince Rupert;
- Surrey;
- Victoria;
- Sidney; and
- Vancouver International Airport
Transport Canada owned assets:
- Three Transport Canada (TC) owned and operated airports:
- Penticton;
- Port Hardy; and
- Sandspit
- Canada’s only certified water aerodrome (Victoria Harbour); and
- Six port facilities:
- Bamfield West;
- Bella Bella;
- False Bay;
- Klemtu;
- Kyuquot; and
- Rivers Inlet (Owikeno)