The North Peace Advantage
THE NORTH PEACE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
City of Fort St. John, District of Hudson’ Hope, District of Taylor and Electoral Areas “B” &”C”
“The year was 1930; I was two days from being 19. I had just arrived from Peace River Crossing. Hudson’s Hope looks like a small paradise and reminded me of the home I had left in England two years before.” Ethel Rutledge, Hudson’s Hope resident – 96 years young
My name is Sandra Lemmon and I am the new Economic Development Officer for the North Peace region. I too felt I had arrived in paradise when I re-located from Canmore, AB in August of 2009. The region is vast in geography and diverse in economies. With a mission to "Encourage economic development projects to diversify and strengthen the economy of the North Peace, the North Peace Economic Development Commission focuses on building regional alliances, providing leadership, information and research and eliminating the barriers to economic development in the North Peace region as serves a regional population of 60,000. “The North Peace has been providing economic opportunities since Alexander Mackenzie and today there are more opportunities than ever”, notes Commission Chair, Dan Davies and life long resident.
Bisected by the mighty Peace River, the BC Peace region comprises almost one-quarter of British Columbia's land area. Fur traders, explorers and homesteaders settled in this vast northeast region of British Columbia with dreams of freedom and a better life - the same dreams that continue to attract people to the Peace Region today. Now, instead of hardship, these modern day settlers find contemporary community facilities, and remarkable job and business opportunities. The people of this region live here because they like it here. Young families make up the largest part of this area's residents, and for good reason. The North Peace region is not only a great place to start a small business or to find a job, it is also a great place to raise a family and enjoy a high quality of life.
The North Peace economic region is the ancestral home to the Beaver and Athabasca speaking tribes: Blueberry River First Nations, Halfway River First Nation and Doig River First Nation. By developing trust, three of the local First Nations within in the Treaty 8 (one of whom is the Doig River First Nation) recently signed Agreements with the Provincial Government, which will enable the communities to have the foundation of sustainability. Today these communities are building partnerships to ensure a prosperous future engaging in economic activities like construction, road building, forestry, oilfield services, seismic, first aid and safety services, and reclamation. Local First Nations are fostering cultural awareness and collaboration and seeking partnerships to build capacity in all types of business and services. They are also becoming an active investor within the region.
From prairie farmland and boreal forest to alpine tundra and rugged Rocky Mountains, the Peace Region produces 90 per cent of the province's grain, 38 per cent of its hydroelectric power, has some of the largest gas fields in North America with over 10,000 wells drilled, employs about 2,300 forestry workers and plays host to 300,000 tourists each year. As the only prairie in British Columbia, it also is home to the province's grain and oil seed industries, and is the most northerly agricultural area of Canada. Recently, the NPEDC worked closely with the North Pine Farmers Institute to secure nearly one million dollars in funding from the Northern Development Initiative Trust to purchase and operate a grain elevator and rail head in Fort St. John, creating jobs and supporting agriculture producers in the North Peace region - a good example of collaboration between all levels of government.
As the “Energy Capital" of the Province, the City of Fort St. John offers big city amenities with small community friendliness. Dr. Sherry Cooper, Global Economic Strategist & Executive Vice President, BMO Financial Group recently named Fort St. John as one of the Top-10 Small Business Hotbeds in Canada.
The energy industry has acquired huge tracts of petroleum and natural gas rights in Northeastern B.C. for unconventional oil and gas in the past 3 years and particularly in the past 18 months. This investment of billions of dollars will dramatically impact the future of the North Peace Region in ways that are unimaginable from an economic development perspective. There simply is no other sector of the economy that will have more impact on the North Peace during the next 5 years. The world is knocking on the door of the North Peace Region. Today as it did in the past, the North Peace welcomes the world.
Please contact me at (250) 785-5969 or invest@npedc.ca
Expanding or relocating hyour business? Search for industrial land for sale or lease within British Columbia, Canada. These site selections include detailed descriptions, photos and maps of industricl real estate in BC.
Visit: www.agf.gov.bc.ca/clad/crownland_opps/properties4_sale.html
PDF - CANADA’S SMALL BUSINESS JUGGERNAUT
A Special Report from BMO Capital Markets Economics
Pages 8, 10 and 13 listing FSJ as Top 10 Small Business Hotbeds
