The exhibition floor at the 23rd Natural Resources Forum at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre. (Image Credit: CKPGtoday.ca Staff)

By Adam Berls

Natural Resources Forum

City hails 23rd Natural Resources Forum as a success

Jan 28, 2026 | 6:00 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — It has been one week since the City of Prince George played host to the 23rd Natural Resources Forum, and the City is hailing the event as a success.

The City says Mayor Simon Yu and City Councillors, “took the opportunity to meet with a handful of provincial and federal representatives to advocate for Prince George.” This included meetings with Premier David Eby, five ministers, Trade Invest BC and Invest in Canada representatives, and more.

The City has listed some of the topics discussed:

• Premier David Eby: to request more information on the Prince George involuntary care facility, discuss challenges in B.C.’s forest industry and request continued provincial advocacy, more information about the North District Uniform Gang Enforcement Team, and reducing downloaded responsibilities and costs to local governments.
• Honourable Brittny Anderson, Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities: similar topics as above with the Premier were raised with the Minister of State. 
• Minister Jagrup Brar, Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals: to recognize Prince George as northern B.C.’s mining supply and logistics hub and prioritize local and regional infrastructure investments to support mining supply chains.
• Deputy Minister Peter Pokorny, Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions: to request a BC-Low Carbon Fuel Standard initiative agreement to support Tidewater Renewables Ltd. in the development of a sustainable aviation fuels project and to develop a clean fuels corridor along Highway 16 to create domestic supply and demand for clean fuel projects.
• Minister Ravi Kahlon, Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth: to request support in response to U.S. tariffs for B.C. businesses, support for communities’ new industry attraction efforts to diversify local economies, and involving Prince George in the military industrial strategy for B.C.
• Minister Ravi Parmar, Ministry of Forests: to request support for B.C. forest companies seeking federal loan guarantees and continued advocacy to the federal government for a Minister of Forestry, making forestry agreements a top national priority.

“We are pleased with the meetings that took place last week during the BC Natural Resources Forum,” said Mayor Simon Yu, “this was a great opportunity to meet with our provincial counterparts face to face to continue to advocate for our local economy and get more information about recent announcements from the B.C. Government, including the involuntary care facility planned for Prince George and the North District Uniform Gang Enforcement Team. These investments have been much needed in our community, and we look forward to the province sharing more information publicly about the future of these programs in the weeks to come.” 

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“We are grateful for the opportunity to continue building productive relationships with our provincial and federal partners,” said City manager, Walter Babicz, “the BC Natural Resources forum is a keynote event for the City and staff at the Conference and Civic Centre did an excellent job welcoming more than 1,600 delegates to our facility. Prince George is proud to host this annual event that underscores the importance of the natural resources sector to our community.” 

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Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com