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B C B U S I N E S S . C A
J U N E 2 0 2 5
I
IT WILL BE interesting to see
if, this July, anyone runs against
Crystal Smith for the position
of chief councillor. It seems like
it would be a daunting task to
unseat Smith, who has held the
role for almost eight years and
has overseen Cedar LNG, the
world's first Indigenous major-
ity-owned LNG project.
"Up until about three
months ago I was very uncer-
tain as to whether or not I would
run, but I've got that excitement
back and it's another challenge
that I'm definitely up for," says
Smith. "I've been getting a lot
of feedback from Nation mem-
bers and some of our council
that are happy I'm going to be
running again. I don't want to
sound too optimistic [about
winning] though. I just hope I
get acclaimed at least once."
In her role, Smith oversees
the operations of the Haisla
Nation, a First Nation based just
south of the town of Kitimat,
and its over 2,000 members.
The last year or so has been
especially crucial in determin-
ing the future of the Nation, as
Smith has steered the $5.5-bil-
CRYSTAL
SMITH
C H I E F C O U N C I L L O R ,
H A I S L A N AT I O N
LE ADER
lion Cedar LNG project, a float-
ing LNG terminal with an annual
production capacity of 3.3
million tonnes of liquefied nat-
ural gas. The site is currently
under construction.
"Members are definitely
proud to see [Cedar LNG],"
Smith notes, "but I think it's
also been about managing the
shift of a different setting. We're
owners, not partners in it… the
reality of those expectations
is something that's been an
adjustment for us."
Smith also recently joined
the board of Vancouver-based
Taseko Mines, which operates
the largest employer in the Cari-
boo region, the Gibraltar Mine.
It's another barrier broken.
"I've never had any corpo-
rate experience; I've always
been working for our Nation
since I started working," says
Smith. "I was definitely nervous
and I guess had some imposter
syndrome, but when the aspect
of Indigenous participation
[in the company's projects]
came up, I definitely felt like I
belonged."–N.C.
"Members are
definitely proud
to see
[Cedar LNG],
but I think
it's also
been about
managing
the shift of
a different
setting.
