Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Fort Nelson is a Canadian town located in British Columbia's northeastern corner. It is the administrative centre of the newly formed Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, the first regional municipality in the province. The majority of Fort Nelson's economic activity has historically been concentrated in the energy and tourism industries, and until very recently, forestry. The forests surrounding Fort Nelson are part of Canada's boreal forest. Fort Nelson is on the southwest edge of the Greater Sierra oil & gas field.

The town lies east of the Northern Rocky Mountains in the Peace River region along the Alaska Highway at mile 300. Year round, the town is home to over 6,300 residents while 1,800 additional residents live in the surrounding area, which includes the Fort Nelson First Nations reserve. There are about 700 members living on the reserve, and across the region as a whole, Aboriginal people make up approximately 15% of the total population.

The community experiences significant seasonal population fluctuations. In winter, drilling rig activities bring in from 2,000 to 5,000 seasonal workers and during the summer tourist season (April through September) about 300,000 visitors travel through the municipality, mostly on their way to or from Alaska.