The province’s largest security companies have experienced mixed rates of growth during the pandemic, according to data collected for BIV’s Biggest Security Companies in B.C. list (https:biv.com/lists).
The average number of security staff at the top firms has grown 0.5 per cent to 863.8 in 2022 from 859.5 in 2021. However, during the same period the median fell 12 per cent to 385 security guards from 437.5 in 2021 and slipped below its 2020 level. This suggests that larger companies higher on the list grew more than their smaller counterparts lower on the list.
During the last five years, however, both the average and median number of personnel at the companies on the list followed similar trends. This suggests that security teams throughout the list grew at similar rates regardless of their size; the median increased 29 per cent while the average grew 26 per cent.
Outside of the top five, the number of security staff at many companies did not change over the past year. No. 4 GuardTeck Security Co. had the largest one-year and five-year increases in security staff: up 17.4 per cent over the past year to 1,512 in 2022 from 610 in 2021 and 147.9 per cent over the past five years. No. 7 Houle Electric Ltd. had the largest one-year decline in security staff: down 29 per cent to 848 in 2022 from 1,194 in 2021. •
