48 INVEST in BC 2 0 2 4
CREDITS
NORTH COAST/NECHAKO
▷
Atlin
▷
Burns Lake
▷
Cassiar
▷
Dease Lake
▷
Fort St. James
▷
Fraser lake
▷
Granisle
▷
Hazelton
▷
Houston
▷
Kitimat
▷
Masset
▷
New Hazelton
▷
Port Clements
▷
Port Edwards
▷
Port Simpson
▷
Prince Rupert
▷
Queen Charlotte City
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Sandspit
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Skidegate
▷
Smithers
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Telegraph Creek
▷
Telkwa
▷
Terrace
▷
Vanderhoof
SHARE OF B.C.
POPULATION 2%
Sea Change
The once dire economic prospects of the North Coast
and Nechako have reversed, turning the regions
into drivers of province-wide prosperity
T
he fate of Watson Island, a patch of land 15
minutes' drive south from Prince Rupert,
is emblematic of the revival of the North
Coast's economic fortunes. It was once the site
of a pulp mill, the city's largest employer with
600 workers. But the mill's gates shut in 2001
due to cost pressures and low pulp prices. Several
failed attempts to revive it later, the City of
Prince Rupert became an unwilling owner as the
result of a tax sale. Just maintaining the site and
preventing contamination of the surrounding
environment cost $1.2 million a year, an expense
the economically depressed community could
ill afford. The city still planned to sell the site
as it paid to dismantle the mill and sell its steel
for scrap in 2015. But then its thinking began
to change.
"We started to see the value to the property,"
says Paul Vendittelli, director of economic
development and transportation for the City of
Prince Rupert. Watson Island had rail, road and
water access just as energy and other exporters
were taking notice of Prince Rupert's strategic
location between North American and Asian
markets. The city went on to secure a lease with
Pembina Pipeline Corp. of Calgary to build a
propane export terminal on the site. The facility
started operations in 2022, creating some 75 jobs.
"We went from losing $1.2 million a year on
the site to generating $5 million a year in lease
revenue and taxes," Vendittelli says. CN Rail,
Bolloré Logistics and a temporary camp housing
150 workers also use the site, and Prince Rupert
aims to attract a green hydrogen facility as well.
For its willingness to think entrepreneurially
about Watson Island, the City of Prince Rupert
this year received the Community Resiliency
Award from the BCEDA. RIGHT
AND
INSET:
CIT
Y
OF
PRINCE
RUPERT;
OPPOSITE
PAGE
TOP:
PEMBINA
PIPELINE
CORPORATION
