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Kitimat | |
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| District of Kitimat[1] | |
 Aerial photo of Kitimat residential area with Douglas Channel in the background. | |
 Flag | |
  Kitimat Location in British Columbia Show map of British Columbia Kitimat Kitimat (Canada) Show map of Canada | |
| Coordinates:54°03′12″N128°39′08″W / 54.05333°N 128.65222°W /54.05333; -128.65222[2] C | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Regional district | Kitimat–Stikine |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Phil Germuth[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 242.63 km2 (93.68 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2016) | |
• Total | 8,131 |
| • Density | 34.7/km2 (90/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-08:00 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-07:00 (PDT) |
| Forward sortation area | |
| Area code | 250 /778 /236 |
| Highways |  Highway 37 |
| Website | www.kitimat.ca |
Kitimat is a district municipality in theNorth Coast region ofBritish Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of theRegional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban district in northwest British Columbia, which includesTerrace to the north along theSkeena River Valley. The city was planned and built by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) during the 1950s. Its post office was approved on 6 June 1952.[4]
Kitimat's municipal area is 242.63 km2 (93.68 sq mi). It is located on tidewater in one of the few wide, flat valleys on the coast of British Columbia. The 2016 census recorded 8,131 citizens.[5]
The District of Kitimat Development Services situates the port of Kitimat as an integral part of the Northwest Corridor connecting North America to the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Rim.[6]
"Kitimat" in theTsimshian language refers to theHaisla First Nation as the "People of the Snow". Before 1950 the Kitimat township was a smallfishing village at the head of the Kitimat Arm of theDouglas Channel, a deepwaterfjord.[7]
The municipal town of Kitimat came into existence in 1951 after the Provincial Government of British Columbia invited Alcan to develop hydroelectric facilities to support one of the most power-intensive of all industries—the aluminum smelting industry.[8] The company built a dam, 16 km (10 mi) tunnel, powerhouse, 82 km (51 mi)transmission line, a deep-sea terminal andsmelter. The company also designed, laid out and assisted with the initial construction of the city. At the time, the combined development was considered "the most expensive project ever attempted by private industry."[7]
Alcan employed the services of city plannerClarence Stein in order to ensure the community design facilitated an environment that would attract and retain workers, although Alcan intended it to not be acompany town.[9] Today, Kitimat benefits from the quality of planning resulting from theGarden City design concept. Stein's design kept industry well separated from the community with large areas for expansion. He also created looped streets surrounding an urban city centre mall and linked by over 45 km (28 mi) of walkways connecting to all areas of the community.
The substantial greenspace areas and future expansion concepts designed by Stein have been upheld to this day by the city planners, thereby resulting in a low-density settlement pattern interspersed with forested patches. Also, the Alcan-based city origin and land provenance remain documented in the form of restrictive covenants registered on title.[10]
Aluminum producerRio Tinto is the main employer in the municipality. Local government, schools, small manufacturing and service/retail are secondary contributors. Secondary core activities include engineering, import of petrochemical products (methanol and condensate), and metal fabrication. Approximately $5 billion in manufacturing investment is anticipated in the 2010–2015 period with a further $5 billion-plus in the investigative stage over the next decade.[citation needed] Anticipated investment includes an approximately $2 billion modernization to the Rio Tinto Alcan facilities and $3 billion in the Kitimatliquefied natural gas export development on Haisla Industrial Land at Bish Creek. The export facility would seenatural gas piped in from theWestern Canadian Sedimentary Basin (particularly fromshale gas developments such as theMontney andHorn River) and shipped to Asian markets.[11] The LNG Canada project, a joint venture betweenShell and affiliates ofPetronas,Mitsubishi Corporation,Korea Gas Corporation andPetroChina would, if permitted, begin construction in 2015 of a gas pipeline from northeastern BC and a LNG export terminal with an expected lifespan of 30 years. The terminal, located on the Douglas Channel near the aluminum refinery, would be able to accommodate two LNG vessels at a time. Annual volume would be 24 million tonnes.[12] In July 2014 theFinancial Post reported that Apache Corp. will "completely exit" the Kitimat LNG mega-project planned for B.C.'s West Coast. The U.S.hedge fund Jana Partners LLC has pressured Houston-based Apache to sell its 50% stake in the BC shale gas plays.[13]
Pending energy projects that have identified Kitimat as a strategic gateway include Pacific Northern Gas' Pacific Trail Pipeline (federal and provincial environmental assessments issued) and theEnbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines (currently being reviewed by theNational Energy Board).
Additional investigations into clean energy developments include a Kitimat port development project featuring break-bulk port facilities and consideration of the best uses for the former Eurocan Wharf.[citation needed] In addition, the decommissioning of the former Eurocanpulp and paper facilities or a slimmed down operation are still under consideration. There is also renewed interest in mineral development potential in the Kitimat area. The neighbouring community ofTerrace is also in advanced stages of approval for a number of clean energy projects along with the associated infrastructure for linking those projects to the provincial electrical grid.
Air services for the community are provided throughNorthwest Regional Airport, with connections toPrince George,Smithers, andVancouver.
| External media | |
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| Kemano-Kitimat transmission line | |
| Images | |
 Catenary | |
| Video | |
 Helicopter landing on catenary |
In the 1920s, the provincial government ofBritish Columbia extensively evaluated the province's hydroelectric generating potential. In the late 1940s, theCanadian Government sought to tap the untapped resources of northwest British Columbia. All this led to the identification of theEutsuk/Ootsa/Nechako River drainage basin as a potential site for a sizable reservoir. The potential of this vast system of rivers and lakes prompted British Columbia to invite Alcan to conduct a detailed investigation of the area. Alcan was searching for a site for a largealuminumsmelter, an activity requiring vast amounts of electricity. Alcan concluded that the area was more than adequate to generate the required electricity, and decided to build a smelter there. The timing was right because the post-World War II boom saw a rising demand for aluminum.
Between 1951 and 1954, after signing the agreement with the British Columbia government for land and water rights, Alcan undertook the Kitimat–Kemano Project, one of the most ambitious Canadian engineering projects of the 20th century.[7] The project required not only building theKenney Dam to reverse the Nechako River, but also boring a 16 km (10 mi) tunnel under Mt. Dubose, within theCoast Range, to the large hydroelectricKemano Generating Station built under Mt. Dubose. Electricity from Kemano is transported 80 km (50 mi) across mountains via a custom built twin circuit transmission line. Afteravalanches tore away transmission towers, acatenary system was built.[14]
In three years, 6,000 construction workers built the dam, tunnel, powerhouse, transmission line, smelter, and town.[15]
The town of Kitimat was carved out ofold-growth forest. The company invested over CA$500 million (equivalent to CA$3.3 billion) and employed over 35,000 workers over the five years required to build the Kenney Dam, the hydropower plant under Mt. Dubose atKemano, a 250,000 tpy aluminum smelter, a year-round deepwater port, a townsite designed for a population of 50,000, and a paved highway to the outside world. As a result of this project other companies saw the potential of the area, resulting in further industrial development in the Kitimat valley.
On 1 October 2018,Royal Dutch Shell and its Asia partners gave formal approval to an estimated $40 billion investment into the construction of a new liquified natural gas port terminal project namedLNG Canada, coupled with the construction by a subsidiary ofTransCanada of a gas pipeline, known as theCoastal GasLink Pipeline, linking this terminal to theMontney, British Columbia, natural gas field.[16][17]
When completed, LNG Canada will become the first CanadianLNG export ocean terminal, which will compete with other LNG terminals in the US, either existing or planned on the West (Alaska,Washington,Oregon), Gulf (Louisiana,Texas) and Atlantic coasts (Maryland,Virginia).
In October 2023, pipeline installation on the project was 100% complete.[18]
This new terminal being built in the port of Kitimat will be connected to thePacific Ocean via the existingDouglas Channel. This development will add new sensitive ship traffic when the LNG Canada natural gas storage and liquefaction terminal will be completed and operational, which is estimated to be in 2025. The LNG Canada terminal project will see largeLNG carrier ships loading liquefied natural gas at the future Kitimat LNG terminal, and sailing along theDouglas Channel to carry it to export destinations, mainly in Asia.
The Pacific Future Energy Refinery was projected to refine more than 30,000 m3 per day ofnearly solid bitumen of theWestern Canadian Select variety for at least 60 years.[19]Grupo Salinas were the owners, and "European technology" was touted as the solution to environmental ills.[20] The construction of the plant was budgeted at $11 billion and includedcarbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.[21] Capacity would be increased in 200,000 bpd stages that would cost $6 billion.Simeco, aMilan engineering and construction firm would provide the design. Modules would be built in Asia and transported toPrince Rupert for assembly. The project headquarters was inVancouver. When the project was announced in June 2014 the funds has yet to be assembled, and a preliminary venture round for design work was budgeted at $250 million.[20]Stockwell Day was hired by the proponents, as well asShawn Atleo andOvide Mercredi.[17] TheNorthern Gateway pipeline, originally proposed byEnbridge, would have supplied the resource.[21][17]
Opponents of the project includedSkeenaWild Conservation Trust, andHaida peopleFirst Nations, as well as theKitselas,Metlakatla andGitga'at tribes ofTsimshian people.[17]
The CEO of Pacific Future,Samer Salameh, notified theImpact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) in December 2024 of the project's failure,[21][22] and on 11 February 2025 MinisterSteven Guilbeault wrote that the sponsors confirmed that they had discontinued the project, and that "This letter provides [Pacific Future] with notification that I have terminated the environmental assessment for the project."[21][19]
Kitimat is located 63 km (39 mi) south ofTerrace andThornhill on Highway 37.Prince Rupert is 207 km (129 mi) northwest, andPrince George is 629 km (391 mi) to the east.
Kitimat has awarm-summer humid continental (Köppen climate classificationDfb) with mild summers and cold, snowy winters (much warmer than inland) with significant snowfall averaging 128 inches (325 cm) each year. The rainiest season is fall, with the wettest month, October, having 320 mm of rainfall. There is also a significant drying trend (Mediterranean pattern) in summer, but it is too cold and rainy to classify as such.Cloud cover is significant, especially in winter, and less than 30% of possible sunshine occurs each year.
| Climate data for Kitimat | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.0 (55.4) | 18.0 (64.4) | 27.5 (81.5) | 32.8 (91.0) | 37.0 (98.6) | 41.1 (106.0) | 36.0 (96.8) | 33.3 (91.9) | 25.0 (77.0) | 13.3 (55.9) | 10.0 (50.0) | 41.1 (106.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.5 (32.9) | 3.1 (37.6) | 6.7 (44.1) | 11.7 (53.1) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.5 (67.1) | 21.6 (70.9) | 21.4 (70.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 10.1 (50.2) | 3.9 (39.0) | 1.2 (34.2) | 11.1 (52.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.7 (28.9) | 0.3 (32.5) | 3.2 (37.8) | 7.1 (44.8) | 11.0 (51.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 16.7 (62.1) | 16.5 (61.7) | 12.6 (54.7) | 7.2 (45.0) | 1.8 (35.2) | −0.8 (30.6) | 7.4 (45.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.0 (24.8) | −2.5 (27.5) | −0.3 (31.5) | 2.4 (36.3) | 5.7 (42.3) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.7 (53.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 8.3 (46.9) | 4.3 (39.7) | −0.3 (31.5) | −2.8 (27.0) | 3.6 (38.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.0 (−13.0) | −23.9 (−11.0) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −10.0 (14.0) | −6.7 (19.9) | −0.6 (30.9) | 3.9 (39.0) | 2.0 (35.6) | −2.0 (28.4) | −13.0 (8.6) | −24.0 (−11.2) | −25.0 (−13.0) | −25.0 (−13.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 288.4 (11.35) | 186.8 (7.35) | 160.7 (6.33) | 128.3 (5.05) | 89.5 (3.52) | 73.1 (2.88) | 62.4 (2.46) | 95.7 (3.77) | 190.2 (7.49) | 323.5 (12.74) | 320.3 (12.61) | 291.8 (11.49) | 2,210.7 (87.04) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 195.7 (7.70) | 133.6 (5.26) | 134.5 (5.30) | 123.0 (4.84) | 88.7 (3.49) | 73.1 (2.88) | 62.4 (2.46) | 95.7 (3.77) | 190.2 (7.49) | 319.9 (12.59) | 266.6 (10.50) | 202.7 (7.98) | 1,886.1 (74.26) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 92.7 (36.5) | 53.2 (20.9) | 26.3 (10.4) | 5.4 (2.1) | 0.8 (0.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 3.6 (1.4) | 53.7 (21.1) | 89.1 (35.1) | 324.6 (127.8) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 19.7 | 15.5 | 18.5 | 17.2 | 15.8 | 14.8 | 13.2 | 13.7 | 16.9 | 22.1 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 210.5 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 14.5 | 12.0 | 16.7 | 17.0 | 15.8 | 14.8 | 13.2 | 13.7 | 16.9 | 21.9 | 18.8 | 14.8 | 190.1 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 9.2 | 6.3 | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 11.4 | 41.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 48.5 | 75.9 | 103.8 | 153.9 | 199.6 | 189.5 | 214.3 | 196.5 | 129.7 | 69.2 | 38.1 | 30.9 | 1,449.9 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 19.5 | 27.7 | 28.3 | 36.6 | 40.3 | 37.1 | 41.7 | 42.7 | 33.9 | 21.1 | 14.8 | 13.3 | 29.7 |
| Source:[23] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 11,305 | — |
| 1996 | 11,136 | −1.5% |
| 2001 | 10,285 | −7.6% |
| 2006 | 8,987 | −12.6% |
| 2011 | 8,335 | −7.3% |
| [24][25][26] | ||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Kitimat had a population of 8,236 living in 3,604 of its 4,381 total private dwellings, a change of1.3% from its 2016 population of 8,131. With a land area of 239.28 km2 (92.39 sq mi), it had a population density of34.4/km2 (89.1/sq mi) in 2021.[27]
| Panethnic group | 2021[28] | 2016[29] | 2011[30] | 2006[31] | 2001[32] | 1996[33] | 1991[34][35] | 1986[36][37][38]: 100 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | ||||
| European[a] | 6,285 | 76.55% | 6,555 | 81.38% | 6,950 | 83.38% | 7,595 | 84.86% | 8,895 | 86.87% | 9,780 | 88.03% | 9,645 | 85.51% | 9,690 | 87.06% | |||
| Indigenous | 1,240 | 15.1% | 940 | 11.67% | 920 | 11.04% | 755 | 8.44% | 540 | 5.27% | 545 | 4.91% | 715 | 6.34% | 530 | 4.76% | |||
| Southeast Asian[b] | 200 | 2.44% | 105 | 1.3% | 155 | 1.86% | 115 | 1.28% | 90 | 0.88% | 65 | 0.59% | 35 | 0.31% | 30 | 0.27% | |||
| South Asian | 145 | 1.77% | 155 | 1.92% | 135 | 1.62% | 255 | 2.85% | 465 | 4.54% | 430 | 3.87% | 660 | 5.85% | 670 | 6.02% | |||
| African | 130 | 1.58% | 80 | 0.99% | 0 | 0% | 30 | 0.34% | 80 | 0.78% | 40 | 0.36% | 25 | 0.22% | 45 | 0.4% | |||
| East Asian[c] | 95 | 1.16% | 95 | 1.18% | 120 | 1.44% | 140 | 1.56% | 105 | 1.03% | 180 | 1.62% | 165 | 1.46% | 135 | 1.21% | |||
| Latin American | 60 | 0.73% | 70 | 0.87% | 10 | 0.12% | 45 | 0.5% | 65 | 0.63% | 10 | 0.09% | 10 | 0.09% | 20 | 0.18% | |||
| Middle Eastern[d] | 30 | 0.37% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 30 | 0.27% | 25 | 0.22% | 10 | 0.09% | |||
| Other/Multiracial[e] | 25 | 0.3% | 55 | 0.68% | 0 | 0% | 20 | 0.22% | 0 | 0% | 15 | 0.14% | — | — | — | — | |||
| Total responses | 8,210 | 99.68% | 8,055 | 99.07% | 8,335 | 100% | 8,950 | 99.59% | 10,240 | 99.56% | 11,110 | 99.77% | 11,280 | 99.78% | 11,130 | 99.41% | |||
| Total population | 8,236 | 100% | 8,131 | 100% | 8,335 | 100% | 8,987 | 100% | 10,285 | 100% | 11,136 | 100% | 11,305 | 100% | 11,196 | 100% | |||
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses | |||||||||||||||||||
According to the2021 census, religious groups in Kitimat included:[28]
| Religious group | 2021[28] | 2011[30] | 2001[32] | 1991[34] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Irreligious | 4,220 | 51.4% | 3,250 | 38.97% | 2,320 | 22.66% | 2,765 | 24.51% |
| Christian | 3,690 | 44.95% | 4,950 | 59.35% | 7,435 | 72.61% | 7,775 | 68.93% |
| Muslim | 110 | 1.34% | 30 | 0.36% | 15 | 0.15% | 60 | 0.53% |
| Hindu | 45 | 0.55% | 30 | 0.36% | 100 | 0.98% | 95 | 0.84% |
| Buddhist | 35 | 0.43% | 20 | 0.24% | 15 | 0.15% | 55 | 0.49% |
| Sikh | 20 | 0.24% | 55 | 0.66% | 330 | 3.22% | 505 | 4.48% |
| Indigenous spirituality | 10 | 0.12% | 0 | 0% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Jewish | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.09% |
| Other religion | 75 | 0.91% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.1% | 15 | 0.13% |
| Total responses | 8,210 | 99.68% | 8,340 | 100.06% | 10,240 | 99.56% | 11,280 | 99.78% |
The Alcan project was not free from controversy. Politicians, aboriginal groups, farmers and residents of theNechako Lakes District opposed the contractual release of provincial resources with the profits going to a private firm. Many individuals and groups protested the flooding caused by the creation of the new reservoir, with the destruction of homesteads, villages, burial grounds, millions of board feet of prime timber, and the disruption of prime fish habitat on theNechako River.
In the late 1980s, the company began work on the Kemano Completion Project which would have doubled the generating capacity of the Kemano plant. After Alcan had already bored a second tunnel through the mountain and extended the generating station within the mountain, the provincial government of the day called a halt to the project for a variety of reasons. Having invested over $500 million into the project, Alcan took the provincial government to court. This controversy was settled when Alcan and the provincial government signed the 1997 KCP agreement.
Most of the first decade of the twenty-first century saw the District of Kitimat in court with the Provincial Government over the electricity rights granted to Alcan and its obligations to the Province and to the District.
Rio Tinto Alcan plans to increase the output of its Kitimat smelter from 250,000 MT/Yr to 400,000 MT/Yr and initially committed $300 million to this effort. Since late 2008, relations between Rio Tinto Alcan and the District appear to have become more cordial, with the two parties working to achieve modernization of the aluminum facilities. In December 2011, Rio Tinto Alcan announced its investment of $2.7 billion to complete the modernization of the smelter.[39]
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Kitimat travel guide from WikivoyagePlaces adjacent to Kitimat | |
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