British Columbia

But the old days of awkward access to Maple Ridge have left one legacy: real estate prices in this community of 75,000 remain the lowest of all major Metro Vancouver municipalities.

Underground power (July 2009): Scores of home-based businesses allowed Nelson to escape recession unscathed Nanaimo bucks headwinds (June 2009): Harbour city benefits from migrstion, real estate revival and multimillion-dollar public projects Back to

Riessner credits the economic downturn and the subsequent slide in new-home building, for what he calls "an avalanche" of donated products now spilling into local ReStores.

An economic powerhouse in the centre of the Metro region, Burnaby is home to major high-tech firm such as Electronic Arts, Creo, Ballard Power Systems and Telus.