A year ago, while chasing down a story about a town struggling with the aftermath of a burned-out mill, I made the decision to leave Vancouver for greener pastures.
I was in Burns Lake at the time, where, despite the destruction of the town’s largest employer, the locals were happy to tell this former reporter how much they loved their lives in the central Interior.
It wasn’t the sexy, sensational story the reporter in me wanted, and it certainly wasn’t the doom and gloom that helps sell newspapers.
But it was a story, one that I had heard over and over but had never really listened to.
During the journey back to Prince George, a multi-vehicle accident shut down the Yellowhead Highway, delaying my ability to catch a flight back to Vancouver for another eight hours. Were it not for those eight hours I’d likely still be pumping out headlines and leads in the newsroom.
At that point, after covering B.C.’s natural resources sector for several years, I was already fairly certain that the northern part of this province stood on the precipice of an economic boom that would rival the Cariboo Gold Rush.
What I didn’t know, and what I caught a glimpse of during those eight hours, was that few people in the Lower Mainland had clued into the fact that the boom was about to begin.
On top of that, I also began to understand that the north offered jobs, affordability and a lifestyle similar to if not better than the Okanagan and the Kootenays. And given the escalating costs and deteriorating job market in the Lower Mainland, moving to Prince George was an easy decision to make.
I wasn’t wrong.
In the 10 months since I left Vancouver, I’ve been fortunate enough to provide communications capacity to dozens of communities throughout central and northern B.C. In that time, I’ve gained an insider’s view into major projects and how communities are preparing for them and seeking ways to diversify their economies.
The communities in the north aren’t waiting for handouts or taking direction from this country’s capital cities anymore – they’re in the vanguard of sustainable economic development in the 21st century.
A year ago, a lot of tough questions loomed over the future of this province’s forestry sector.
Today, we know mills will be rebuilt in Burns Lake and Prince George. We know lumber prices are increasing in a market that could soon enjoy a super cycle.
Elsewhere, apartment complexes are being renovated and new houses built to accommodate work camps in Kitimat and other boomtowns amid major energy, transportation and mining projects.
Northern B.C. is one of the few areas where average house prices are increasing while they drop in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, according to the most recent data from the BC Real Estate Association.
2013 will be a pivotal year for the north.
With decisions looming over controversial projects such as Northern Gateway and New Prosperity, the media and the public will continue to focus on northern issues.
At the same time, the smelter modernization, LNG export terminal and pipeline proposals and new mills, mines and energy projects throughout the north will continue to move ahead and be announced – all of this amid a potential changing of the guard in Victoria.
Pundits will argue about how politics could affect the economy in B.C. in the weeks and months ahead; I’ll be the first to admit that they can.
Still, short of an economic collapse on par with the Great Recession, politics won’t be able to stop the tidal wave of development underway in B.C.’s north – a wave that northern communities are riding with aplomb all on their own.
In short, a year after my search for a story in Burns Lake, the story remains the same – not doom and gloom but boom.
And moving up north has not only proven to be a smart personal decision but also a wise investment. •
