Report shows Northern B.C. economy hit not as hard as rest of province by COVID-19 restrictions

PRINCE GEORGE—An update into Northern B.C.’s economy by Northern Development Initiative Trust shows that while the economy has been hit by the impacts of the pandemic, it’s been hit a little less in Northern B.C.

Why? Well according to the report by Northern Development, it’s because Northern B.C. isn’t as reliant as other regions in the province on service-sector employment, such as retail and hospitality. While the north hasn’t been hit as hard as other areas in the province, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been impacted.

From February though June, Northern B.C. saw a 8.5 per cent drop in employment. The north east of the province was most greatly affected, followed by the North Coast-Nechako area, due to significant infrastructure projects that are under construction in those areas.

Some of those major projects included Site C, LNG and Coastal GasLink. When the pandemic was declared back in March, BC Hydro scaled down construction activities at Site C leading to a reduction of approximately 1,800 workers. The total workforce staying at the camp was reduced by roughly 50 per cent in an attempt to reduce transmission of the virus.