BC Business
Out of the way in B.C.’s southeast corner, the Kootenay region combines scenic splendour, historic towns, active lifestyles and an affordable cost of living
Historically, the mountainous Kootenay region relied for its livelihood on the mining and forest industries and to a lesser extent on agriculture. Metallurgical coal mining around Fernie and Sparwood and a handful of small metal and industrial mineral operations scattered around the region, along with the Teck smelter in Trail, still contribute to the local economy, as do logging and sawmill operations. But these days the primary industries are complemented by tourism, manufacturing and advanced technology.
The Kootenays are home to several major ski and golf resorts attracting recreational property buyers from nearby Alberta and visitors from around the world. And there’s more to come with investments worth hundreds of millions on tap for the Wildstone golf resort near Cranbrook, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort near Invermere and Blackstone Resort in Fernie. Not to be outdone, the Fernie and Kimberley alpine resorts are also expanding.
Cranbrook is the largest city in the region and is getting larger. The city has seen the construction of 900 housing units worth more than $300 million over the past five years. The past year witnessed the announcement of a $157-million long-term care facility to be built here. Cranbrook is also working hand-in-hand with ʔaq̓am Community Enterprises (ACE), part of the Ktunaxa Nation, to develop two large light industrial properties adjacent to the Canadian Rockies International Airport. The developments include the Natanik Renewable Energy Project, which aims to take advantage of Cranbrook’s status as the sunniest city in B.C. to generate power from a solar array.
Aiming to improve residents’ access to primary health care, the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce, based in Invermere, has launched a digital campaign to attract more family doctors to the area. The campaign emphasizes the four-season active lifestyle opportunities available in the Rocky Mountain communities, the top-level health infrastructure including a hospital and two clinics and the well paid jobs currently available for physicians.
That’s just one of many grassroots efforts at community development in the Kootenay region. Accelerate Kootenays is a unique strategy to build out the electric vehicle charging station network along the region’s often remote and mountainous highways. With the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation, the Kootenays also have a comprehensive open-access fibre-optic network. MetalTech Alley is harnessing an existing knowledge base in metallurgy, digital fabrication, industrial recycling, cleantech and the industrial internet of things in the smelting town of Trail and applying it to innovation in the circular economy. In Nelson, the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST) at Selkirk College helps companies and entrepreneurs develop prototypes and bring inventions to market.
Since 1995, the Columbia Basin Trust has been investing revenues from power generated on both sides of the Canada-United States border in communities affected by the many hydroelectric dams on the boundary-hopping Columbia River and its tributaries. It’s financed everything from high-speed internet to energy efficiency to waste diversion to carbon reduction.
Kootenay: Hidden Gem
Other Regions
Mainland-Southwest: Ripple Effect
Vancouver Island: Welcoming Shores
Thompson-Okanagan: Urban Makeover
Cariboo: Pioneer Spirit
North Coast-Nechako: Sea Change
Northeast: A New Energy Era
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