FORT ST
JOHN
City of Fort St John
Community Fact Sheet
School District No. 60
InvestBC Community Profile
StatsCan Community Profile
2006
Peace River Regional
District
PRRD Community Fact Sheet
PRRD Socio-Economic Profile
The city of Fort St John is the hub of the
Northeast, serving an area population of over 50,000. For the outdoor lover,
the areas around Fort St John abound with endless opportunities for hiking,
camping, fishing, hunting, skiing and more. Fort St John is 75 km (47 mi.)
north of Dawson Creek on Highway 97 and 88 km (55 mi.) east of Hudson’s Hope
on Highway 29. Fort St John is the oldest non-native settlement in the BC
mainland.
While continuing to develop the oil and
gas industry, Fort St John is actively pursuing the expansion of its tourism
industry. Administrators boast that Fort St John may well be the best
location for new businesses in the North Peace Region, as it is a growing
city with a young energetic population and a positive attitude. Fort St
John’s municipal infrastructure, as well as its social, cultural and
recreational amenities are developing at a pace that should ensure continued
population growth and business development.
POPULATION
Fort St John has a population of
17,402 (2006 Census). According to BC Stats, the population was estimated at 18,774 (in 2007).
TOP EMPLOYERS
MAJOR EMPLOYMENT AREAS
The three industries employing the
majority of people in the Fort St John area are: retail trade,
accommodation, food & beverage, and construction. There are many other
robust industries and businesses including oil & gas, forestry, guiding &
outfitting, transportation & storage, as well as agricultural specialty
crops and livestock.
Oil and Gas
Fort St. John is home to the British Columbia government’s Oil and Gas
Commission.
The development of oil and
natural gas resources in the early 1970s fuelled a development boom. For the
past several years, exploration and production activity moved at a
record-setting pace, with much of the region’s natural gas deposits –
estimated at among the largest in North America – still untapped. About 450
billion cubic meters of marketable gas reserves have been identified so far
and an estimated 650 billion cubic meters have yet to be discovered.
Natural-gas production greatly exceeds provincial demand, with most of the
oil and gas exported to markets in Canada and the U.S.
Expertise can be found amongst the city's wide range of skilled, energy
sector professionals.
Hundreds of large and small
pipeline, well site construction, trucking and seismic companies are at work
in the city, providing crucial support to the industry.
Agriculture
With more than 16 million hectares for active farmland, Fort St. John’s
economy is bolstered by agriculture. The region produces more wheat, barley
and grass seed than any other region of the province. The North Peace River
region’s expansive prairie land base supports some 1,700 farms that generate
total revenue of $77 million per year.
Forestry
The forestry industry directly employs more than 600 people and contributes
$90 million per year to the local economy. Surrounded by a 4.5
million-hectare timber supply, Fort St. John embraces its responsibility as
a guardian of the forest by developing the Fish Creek Community Forest and
reforestation initiatives that have planted more than 50 million trees in
the past 20 years. A $200 – million oriented-strand board plant is currently
under construction by Slocan/LP and
should be completed in September of 2005.
Forestry has room to grow in
Fort St. John: the Allowable Annual Cut - key to the industry's survival -
is set to increase substantially.
The Canfor sawmill near Fort
St. John turns out high-quality, finished lumber products. The Canfor Taylor
Pulp mill converts sawmill wood waste into saleable wood fibres, marketed as
far away as Japan and Germany.
More than 350 trucking and
logging contractors back up these major operators. Spin-off from the
forestry sector provides jobs and income for countless local businesses and
has established the industry as a key component of Fort St. John's
diversified economy.
According to Statistics Canada’s Census,
the industries employing the majority of people in the Fort St John
area are mining & oil & gas extraction, retail trade, construction,
accommodation & food services, education, and transportation & warehousing.
For more information about Fort St John,
please contact the City office at:
City of Fort St John
10631-100 Street
Fort St John, BC V1J 3Z5
Phone: 250-787-8150
Fax: 250-787-818
