Investing in Powell River, British Columbia

Located on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, the Powell River Region offers a wonderful mixture of nature, culture and industry, and has become a hotspot for businesses, families and retirees relocating from centres across North America and the world.

The Powell River region’s chief exports are paper, lumber, crushed limestone, seafood, and value added products such as furniture and flooring. The region has been the recipient of a substantial amount of investment (approximately $1 billion) in the green energy sector with the construction of Alterra Power’s first two run-of-the-river hydro generating stations and the company has two more on the way. Powell River’s commercial sector has been growing rapidly with the addition of seven new national retailers over the past number of years and is being considered by a number of other chains as a place to invest.

The Powell River Region has a strong history of creating innovative partnerships to move projects forward for the betterment of the community. The City took a bold approach to reducing major industrial tax rates for Catalyst Paper Corporation ($18-million in savings) and in turn made a deal to take ownership of needed lands and assets. School District 47 and Vancouver Island University have partnered to create dual credit trades programs that have become a model for the rest of British Columbia. The City has partnered with the Sliammon First Nation and Catalyst Paper to form a Limited Partnership to sell surplus lands for redevelopment to create new jobs and tax revenues. These partnerships are just a few examples of how the community works in a cooperative manner to make things happen.

The Powell River area includes the municipality of Powell River, the rural Electoral Areas B and C of the Powell River Regional District, part of the Sechelt Indian Government District, and several Indian Reserves. It is equivalent to Statistics Canada's Powell River Census Agglomeration.