January 2017 | Business View Magazine

136 137 his claim, and purchased land in what is now Terrace. A forward-thinker, Little gave land to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway to accommodate the location of a railway station in Terrace, rather than Kitsumkalum. It was a smart move. The town was incorporated in 1927 and existed as a sawmill community until World War II. In the early 1950s, Terrace had a population of 350 and began serving as a distribution center for the new town of Kitimat. With the establishment of the Canadian Cellulose Company, wood processing became a major industry. Terrace was once known as the “Cedar Pole Capital” of the world–manufacturing over 50,000 telephone and electric power poles annually to supply the North American market. The world’s tallest pole (162 feet) was cut in Terrace, and currently stands in New York City. There are big plans for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) opportunities coming to the region, but final investment decisions have been delayed on that front. TERRACE, BRITISH COLUMBIA Still, City of Terrace Communications & Busi- ness Development intern, Brian Doddridge, states, “We’re not feeling discouraged about that. We have a number of initiatives put for- ward to diversify our local economy, and en- courage many different industrial and commer- cial investments in the community.” The recent final investment decision by AltaGas to proceed with construction of a $500 Million propane ex- port facility in neighboring Prince Rupert gives credence to the city’s optimism. David Block, Director of Development Services for the City of Terrace, concurs. “Oil and gas and LNG have been the BC government’s fo- cus in the region. But we also have expansion in Prince Rupert for the container port. We’re on the CN rail mainline from Prince Rupert through Winnipeg to Chicago. We have a lot of AT A GLANCE TERRACE, BRITISH COLUMBIA WHAT: A regional supply and servicecenter with a population of 12,500 WHERE: Skeena River Valley, northwest BC WEBSITE: www.terrace.ca