INVEST in BC 2 0 2 4 57
REGIONAL
POPULATION
70,119
UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE (MAY 2024)
6.4%
TOP EMPLOYERS BY
INDUSTRY (2023)
Retail trade
14.4%
Mining & oil &
gas extraction
12.6%
Construction
11.8%
FORECAST
EMPLOYMENT
GROWTH,
2023-33
1,600
BUILDING PERMIT
VALUES (2023)
$563
MILLION
HOUSING STARTS
(2023)
59
VALUE OF MAJOR
PROJECTS PLANNED
OR UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
(Q4 2023)
$41.6
BILLION
BUSINESS
INCORPORATIONS
(2023)
589
SOURCES: B.C. L ABOUR
MARKET OUTLOOK , STATISTICS
CANADA AND B.C. STATS.
cost pressures, volatile markets and a decline in the
timber supply.
There are two metallurgical coal mines in
the south of the region around Chetwynd and
Tumbler Ridge, Brule and Willow Creek, currently
operating, and a handful of others under care
and maintenance that could be brought back into
service should coal prices permit. These mines
send their ore directly to Asia steel mills by rail and
through the Port of Prince Rupert.
RESERVES IN THE CITY
Recent cooperation between the Doig River First
Nation (Tsááʔ çhé ne dane) and local municipal-
ities in establishing urban reserves illustrates
reconciliation in action that creates benefits for
the entire community. As a signatory to Treaty 8 in
1900, the DRFN has long held rural reserve lands
throughout the Peace Country. But in recent years
it has acquired fee-simple properties in Fort St.
John and, through a legal process involving the fed-
eral government, is in the process of turning these
into urban reserves. This status will allow some
2,000 members of the First Nation to live and work
in the city where the jobs are while still enjoying
treaty rights, tax exemptions and other benefits. As
part of the transition, the DRFN has entered into
partnership with local government to harmonize
the operation and maintenance of infrastructure,
bylaws and land use policy. Having established a
template in Fort St. John, it is now working towards
a similar partnership in Dawson Creek.
"It unlocks a lot of economic growth," says
Will Fong, an economic advisor to the DRFN. In
addition to increasing the labour supply where
it's most needed, the urban reserve partnerships
provide an outlet for First Nations investment.
"The capital that exists within First Nations is
pretty significant," he notes.
In Fort St. John, for example, the DRFN recently
completed engineering and planning work on a
$25-million gas station, café/restaurant and office
building that represents the first phase of a larger
commercial land development. The ribbon-cutting
is slated for 2025. •
N O R T H E A S T
BREADBASKET: The Peace
Country represents the
northwestern extremity of
Canada's prairie grain belt
(opposite page); metallurgical
coal mining and reclamation
near Tumbler Ridge (left) and
Chetwynd (below)
