As of May this year, an estimated 4,385 workers were employed on the $8.8 billion Site C dam construction project near Fort St. John. Kitimat and Terrace are humming with activity, thanks to the $40 billion LNG Canada-Coastal GasLink pipeline project.
Port expansion in Prince Rupert has created an additional 1,000 jobs since 2016. Employment is strong in the Dawson Creek-Tumbler Ridge-Chetwynd triangle, thanks in part to Conuma Coal Resources reopening a third mine – Willow Creek – last year.
And in the Golden Triangle of northwest B.C., mining exploration spending was up by about $165 million in 2018, according to EY. Economic growth in B.C.’s north is reflected in housing starts and construction permits.
Residential building permits in northern B.C. were up 30% in 2018 compared with the total in 2017, industrial permits were up 427% and institutional and government building permits were up 42%, according to the annual State of the North report.
Overall, indicators show northern B.C.’s economy growing in 2018. But in small, forestry-dependent communities like Mackenzie and Fort St. James, it’s a very different story. Both have been hit hard recently with sawmill closures and curtailments.
For the rest of this article: https://biv.com/article/2019/09/boom-and-gloom-british-columbias-north