Located 63 KM from Terrace on the Northcoast of British Columbia, Kitimat is a district municipality. The District of Kitimat is a member of the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. Kitimat was founded in the 1950s after the Government of British Columbia welcomed Alcan (now Rio Tinto) to develop an aluminum smelter. Before that, Kitimat was, and still is the home to the Haisla First Nation. (http://www.haisla.ca). The town of Kitimat was designed as an industry town that would help and attract industry workers.
The word Kitimat in the Tsimshian language refers to “People of the Snow.” The area receives on average 300 centimetres of snow each year. The climate in Kitimat is very mild and can tend to be rainy with average temperature of 18 degrees Celsius in the Summer and -5 in the Winter.
Over the years Kitimat has seen different industries come and go including a methanol plant, and pulp and paper mill. Currently Kitimat is the centre of Canada’s largest investment project – LNG Canada, which is currently under construction. There are several other proposed industrial projects proposed for the area including other LNG export facilities, as well as a propane export facility. Kitimat is home to the largest privately owned port on the north coast.
To find out more about Kitimat, visit these websites.
