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When the Association of British Columbia Marine Industries incorporated in 2014, it represented about 30 organizations. It now counts roughly 400 members, and about 100 of those joined in the past year. That jump came after the board voted early this year to add defence to its mandate and a "D" to its name.
Alex Rueben, a 35-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy, has led the association through that shift. He spoke with Vanguard Editor in Chief Steve Ladurantaye about B.C.'s defence industrial base, the scramble among provinces for defence dollars, and why small businesses are finding the road into defence harder than expected.
