Kitimat's Aluminum Smelter: The Arrival of Industry in Kitimat

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*This tour is a long distance to walk and a car or a bike is highly recommended.*

The town of Kitimat is fairly young on the timeline of Canada and came into being in the 1950s as a settler community based on the establishment of a huge aluminum smelter and associated hydroelectric project. Industry has shaped and founded the community. The Alcan Aluminum project was the largest industrial construction project in the world at the time, and the remote wilderness of the region only added to the complexity and difficulty of the task. Six thousand workers toiled here for nearly five years, living deep in the wilderness in camps only accessible by boats, planes, and helicopters.

They worked to transform the landscape. They built a dam which flooded 92,000 hectares of land. They hollowed out a mountain to build a power station. They dredged the Douglas Channel to create a deep-sea port. All of this was done to create a new resource that was beginning to shape the modern world: aluminum.

Yet before all of this was here, before the hum of the smelter came to dominate the channel and the town of Kitimat sprung up among the mountains, this land was the home to the Haisla First Nation. For thousands of years, the Haisla have lived in this region. The town of Kitimat is built on unceded traditional territory.

On this short driving tour of Kitimat, we will witness the juxtaposition which shapes Kitimat, exploring how deep wilderness intersects with industry. Our first stop will be at Coghlin Park, which provides expansive views across the town and towards the ocean and distant smelter. Here, we will learn about Kitimat's early history, before the Alcan Aluminum project had begun to take shape. Next, we will drive past the City Centre and to the Giant Spruce Park. A short walk leads to the waterfront, where you can see across the Kitimat River to Alcan's so-called "Million Dollar Baby": the sandhill. Here, we will look at how and why Kitimat came to be chosen as the site of the Alcan aluminum smelter, and what it takes to produce aluminum.

Stop three, located down Haisla Boulevard and Alcan Road next to the smelter itself, digs into the immensity of the project and looks at what it took to construct. Stop four explores the steps of the old Hudson's Bay Trading Company which once provided for smelter workers. Here, we will dive into what life was like for the construction workers during Alcan's early years.

Our final stop takes us to Hospital Beach, where Kitimat's first temporary hospital was once located. Enjoy the beautiful views of the Channel and learn about the construction and official opening of the smelter and what came next for the young town of Kitimat and its economy.

Liens

• Website onthisspot.ca
• Download App apps.apple.com

Organisateur

On This Spot

The On This Spot app takes people on guided walking tours through the history that surrounds them.

At each stop on their journey users will find themselves standing on the spot a historic photo was taken. They can view a then and now photo comparison, use the built in camera to create their own, and read about local history and how it ties into the broader human experience.

Based in Vancouver, On This Spot is working with heritage, tourism, and business organizations across Canada to expand the app's coverage.