Northeastern B.C. will be one of the top investment markets in Canada. Two of the major centers in northeastern B.C. are Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. These areas are seeing massive capital investments. Capital investments lead to job creation. People move to these areas to fill the jobs, driving rents higher and increasing the price of real estate.
The projects driving growth in northeastern B.C.
- In 2012, a new $350,000 hospital opened in Fort St. John, population 25,000. The government believes there is a major population boom on the horizon.
- Plans are in place to twin the highway from Fort St. John to Grand Prairie. Another major capital project.
- Fort St. John has the second largest OSV plant in the world, operating with 400 employees per 8 hour shift running 3 shifts per day.
- The Horn River and Montney natural gas fields are the third largest hydrocarbon fields in North America.
- enCana is spending $600,000 on drilling in the area in 2015.
- BC Hydro has announced the Site C Dam for the region, a $9 billion project, the largest infrastructure project in Canada 7 km away from Fort St. John.
- Petronas announced their decision to proceed with a $36 billion natural gas project, the largest capital investment project in B.C. history.
- In 2015, Shell’s BC LNG received approval from the provincial and federal governments for their $40 billion liquefied gas project.
People go where jobs grow
In 2014, the population of Fort St. John grew by 4.5%. According to the North Peace Economic Development Office, the population is set to double over the next 6 years. Fort St. John was recently ranked #1 by B.C. business as best city to work for in in B.C. There is an extremely diversified employment base in the city with over 2000 people employed in the forestry industry and thousands of additional jobs being created with the Site C Dam and the natural gas industry. The number of jobs created in Fort St. John is set to grow exponentially.
There has never been a better time to acquire brand-new cash flowing properties in what is becoming one of the top real estate investment markets in the country.