Dear reader, 

My name is Derrick Penner, and I’ve been a reporter with the Vancouver Sun since 2005. I'm excited to share that I’m now also part of a new team working with the Financial Post to expand business coverage in Western Canada.  

We’ve reached a pivotal moment for the Canadian economy with the rupture of our once steadfast trading relationship with the U.S., which has governments and businesses searching for more reliable trading partners on all fronts. 

In B.C., it’s meant an increased emphasis on promoting resource projects aimed at diversifying Canada’s exports and strengthening our domestic economy, including new liquefied natural gas developments on the coast, new mines in the northwest and artificial intelligence data centres in the interior. 

As part of the Financial Post Western Bureau, I’ll be working with reporters on the ground in Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon to tell stories about what is shaping our economy. You will be able to read our work in the pages of the Vancouver Sun  starting today. 

This new team represents a long-term commitment to bringing authentic Western experiences and voices to the national conversation in a way that no other Canadian news organization can. 

From Vancouver, I will be focused on telling you stories about what is shaping Canada’s Asia Pacific Gateway, from port expansions to resource development and technology. I’ve been a reporter in British Columbia for more than 30 years — more than 20 of them with the Vancouver Sun. I’ve learned about the importance of our resource sector firsthand during my time working in Kitimat and Campbell River before coming to Vancouver. And I’m excited now to report important stories about B.C.’s new economy. 

There’s another thing I’d like to let you know: We’re also launching a newsletter, exclusively for subscribers of the Vancouver Sun or the Financial Post. It’s called FP West: Energy Insider and, as the name suggests, it brings you behind closed doors in the sector. Every Wednesday morning starting on Nov. 12, you’ll hear from insiders including CEOs, investors, senior politicians and our reporters on the ground in Western Canada. 

To celebrate the launch of the newsletter, we are making the first edition free for everyone. But after that, you will need to subscribe to the Vancouver Sun or the Financial Post to keep getting it. 

Sign up to receive FP West: Energy Insider now. 

Once a week, we will send you exclusive content straight to your inbox. It might be a scoop, a Q&A with a news-making CEO or some other premium content. Curious about the oilpatch? Ask away, and our team will answer in a future edition of the newsletter. 

At the Vancouver Sun and Financial Post, we are bringing a new sense of urgency to understanding this moment in Canadian energy. The sector is at a turning point with renewed interest in a possible oil export pipeline, new LNG projects in the works, new innovations in carbon capture to reduce the environmental impact of oil and gas and B.C. pursuing unprecedented investments in renewable energy. 

We hope you will subscribe to support our team’s work and to read our premium newsletter every week.

And please stay tuned: we will share another big announcement on our launch in the coming weeks. 

Cheers, 

Derrick Penner, reporter, Vancouver Sun