Prince George positioned as key hub in Canada’s nation-building ambitions, mayor says
‘Prince George will underpin Canada’s economy in the years to come,’ says Prince George mayor Simon Yu. / SUBMITTED PHOTO
As Canada looks to rebuild its economy amid global uncertainty, Prince George is emerging as a central hub in the country’s nation-building ambitions, according to Mayor Simon Yu, who says the northern B.C. city is uniquely positioned to underpin Canada’s future growth.
“Prince George will underpin Canada’s economy in the years to come,” Yu said in an interview while at the B.C. Natural Resources Forum, pointing to the city’s geography, infrastructure and long-standing industrial role.
Yu said Prince George is a pivotal industrial and transportation hub at the centre of Canada’s nation-building ambitions, citing its geography, infrastructure and resource base. He described the city as being “in the pivot point between the entire Asia and entire Americas,” giving it strategic importance for trade and supply chains.
Yu said Prince George has long been a manufacturing hub for forestry products and now plays a growing role in mining, with abundant critical minerals and multiple projects in the region. He said the city supports mining and energy development across northern British Columbia.
He highlighted key infrastructure, including Prince George’s international airport, which he said has “a fourth and longest runway in Canada,” a duty holding zone, and plans for sustainable aviation fuel. Yu also pointed to LNG opportunities, electrification projects, and rail corridors linking northern B.C., Squamish and Prince George.
“Prince George is smack right in the middle of B.C.,” Yu said, adding that the city’s combination of mining, energy, transportation and industrial capacity will make it crucial to British Columbia’s economy and, in turn, Canada’s future development. “We are situated at the right place, the right time, where our country needs us to be.”
Yu said rural communities like Prince George are facing economic pressure from shifting geopolitics.
U.S. tariffs
Sudden changes in Canada’s trading relationship with the United States, particularly steep lumber tariffs, have created urgent challenges for Prince George’s forestry sector, he said. With about 75 per cent of exports historically tied to the U.S. market, he said shifting to new markets will take time.
He said the impacts are already being felt.
“We have a hard enough time right now to meet our annual allowable cut, you know, to 35 million cubic metres this year. We didn't even meet 35. We are down to 32 million cubic metres. So this will, of course, affect jobs, and jobs affect the local economy. The local economy affects everything,” he said. “So this is one of our biggest challenges right now.”
The tariffs, combined with a slowing U.S. housing market, are putting significant pressure on the industry, adding that the region “cannot afford” further mill shutdowns.
Despite the near-term risks, Yu said he remains optimistic that governments and industry will find a path forward by pivoting toward value-added forestry products and expanding into new global markets, while gradually transitioning workers into energy and mining sectors.
Part of the solution, he added, was coordinated action across governments and industry, anchored by a clear national industrial and resource strategy. This needs to be done quickly as the changes needed to remain competitive take time, he said. Most importantly, he noted, the general public needs to buy in and the international investment community needs to see the area as one of growth potential.
Regional hub
Mayor Yu speaking at the BC Natural Resources Forum.
Prince George hosted the 23rd annual BC Natural Resources Forum last week, drawing more than 1,600 delegates and filling local hotels — something Yu said underscores the city’s role in national and provincial conversations.
“Prince George by tradition has been the industrial hub, and transportation hub for our province,” he said. “It’s very important for, not just for local economy, it’s for local industry, but for B.C. and Canada as a whole.”
Looking ahead, Yu said the city’s future is closely tied to clean energy, critical minerals and transportation infrastructure — all key elements of renewed nation-building discussions across Canada.
Beyond industry, Yu highlighted healthcare and population retention as pressing challenges for northern and rural communities.
“We service an area the size of France,” he said. “The greatest chance for small rural communities, of course, is healthcare.”
He said Prince George is working to strengthen its role as a regional medical hub while addressing what he described as a “brain drain” of young people leaving for larger cities.
“Our resources are the people,” Yu said. “I want them to stay here in Prince George to develop this great region together.”