REGIONAL
POPULATION (2024)
100,681
UNEMPLOYMENT
RATE (MAY 2025)
6.6%
TOP EMPLOYERS BY
INDUSTRY (2023)
Health care &
social assistance
5.7%
Retail trade
5.0%
Transportation &
warehousing
5.0%
FORECAST
EMPLOYMENT
GROWTH, 2024-34
4,800
BUILDING PERMIT
VALUES (2024)
$155
MILLION
HOUSING STARTS
(2024)
233
(PRINCE RUPERT AND
TERRACE ONLY)
VALUE OF MAJOR
PROJECTS PLANNED
OR UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
(Q4 2024)
$130.9
BILLION
BUSINESS
INCORPORATIONS
(2024)
357
SOURCES: B.C. L ABOUR
MARKET OUTLOOK , STATISTICS
CANADA AND B.C. STATS.
N O R T H C O A S T / N E C H A K O
INVEST in BC 2 0 2 5 51 Official Publication of the BC Economic Development Association in special partnership with BCBusiness.
I
n a speech to the business community in May, following
the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs on Ca-
nadian exports, B.C. Premier David Eby singled out the
province's North Coast and Nechako regions in his plan to
respond to the new world economic order taking shape.
"Today, communities in B.C.'s northwest—near the Alaska
and Yukon borders—stand on the brink of a generational
opportunity: to build lasting prosperity for our province and
nation through true partnership with First Nations, while
conserving the lands and waters we all depend on," Eby
said. "This region is rich in critical minerals and precious
metals—the building blocks of modern life and the green
technologies of tomorrow, from electric vehicles to wind
turbines. As global demand for these minerals is projected
to grow fivefold by 2040, B.C. has a vital role to play."
Indeed, the area north of Stewart has long been known
in the mining exploration business as the Golden Triangle
for its mineral abundance. It already has a handful of mines
in operation and several more are in development, aided by
new road and electric power infrastructure. The province is
working towards agreements with First Nations and other
stakeholders that will help expedite project approvals in the
northwest and across B.C.
The North Coast is likewise a linchpin to Canada's export
diversification efforts for its port and energy transportation
infrastructure. LNG Canada, the country's largest ever
capital project, commenced operations in Kitimat in
2025. The first liquefied natural gas terminal to be built on
the Pacific Coast of the Americas, it is designed to export
14 million tonnes of LNG to Asia per year, equivalent to
around 8 percent of Canada's entire natural gas production
in 2024.
Two more LNG terminals, Cedar LNG and Ksi Lisims,
are in development on the North Coast. In March,
natural gas producer ARC Resources signed a 20-year
offtake agreement with ExxonMobil LNG Asia Pacific for
approximately half the planned throughput for Cedar LNG.
A joint venture between Pembina Pipeline Corp. and the
Haisla First Nation, Cedar LNG is scheduled to come into
service in 2028.
NEW MARKETS
OVERSEAS:
Ridley Island
Propane Export
Terminal (right);
LNG Canada
site in Kitimat
(below)
TOP:
PRINCE
RUPERT
PORT
AUTHORIT
Y;
LEFT:
LNG
CANADA
