Kitimat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kitimat
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District municipality
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| District of Kitimat | ||
Aerial photo of Kitimat residential area with Douglas Channel in the background.
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 Kitimat
Location in British Columbia
Kitimat
Location in Canada
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| Country | Canada | |
| Province | British Columbia | |
| Regional district | Kitimat–Stikine | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 242.63 km2 (93.68 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) | |
| Population
(2016)
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| • Total | 8,131 | |
| • Density | 34.7/km2 (90/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | UTC-08:00 (PST) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-07:00 (PDT) | |
| Forward sortation area |
V8C
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| Area code(s) | 250 / 778 / 236 | |
| Highways |  Hwy 37 |
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| Website | www.kitimat.ca | |
Kitimat is a town in British Columbia, Canada, located on the North Coast. It is part of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine area. The Kitimat Valley is a busy area in northwest British Columbia, close to Terrace and the Skeena River.
The town was planned and built by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) in the 1950s. Kitimat covers about 242.63 square kilometers. In 2016, 8,131 people lived there. Kitimat's port is an important link between North America and the Pacific Ocean.
Contents
History of Kitimat
The name "Kitimat" comes from the Tsimshian language. It means "People of the Snow" and refers to the Haisla First Nation. Before 1950, Kitimat was a small fishing village. It was located at the end of the Kitimat Arm of the Douglas Channel, which is a deep fjord.
The modern town of Kitimat started in 1951. This happened after the government of British Columbia asked Alcan to build a hydroelectric power system. This system was needed to power a large aluminum factory.
Alcan built a dam, a 16 km tunnel, a powerhouse, and an 82 km transmission line. They also built a deep-sea port and the aluminum factory. The company even designed and helped build the town itself. At the time, this whole project was one of the most expensive ever done by a private company.
Alcan hired a city planner named Clarence Stein. He designed Kitimat to be a nice place to live, so workers would want to stay. His design separated the factories from the living areas. He also created looped streets and over 45 km of walkways connecting different parts of the town.
Kitimat still benefits from this careful planning today. It has many green spaces and areas for future growth.
What Drives the Economy
The main employer in Kitimat is Rio Tinto Alcan, which makes aluminum. Other important jobs are in local government, schools, small factories, and shops. Kitimat also handles engineering, imports of chemicals, and metal work.
There are big plans for new projects in Kitimat. These include a major upgrade to the Rio Tinto Alcan factory. Also, a large project to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) is being built. This project will bring natural gas from other parts of British Columbia. It will then be cooled into a liquid and shipped to countries in Asia.
The Kemano Hydroelectric Project
In the 1920s, British Columbia looked for places to build hydroelectric power plants. By the late 1940s, the Canadian government wanted to use the resources in northwest British Columbia. They found the Eutsuk/Ootsa/Nechako River area was perfect for a large water reservoir.
Alcan was looking for a place to build a big aluminum factory. This type of factory needs a lot of electricity. Alcan found that this area could produce all the power they needed. They decided to build their factory there. This was a good time because after World War II, there was a high demand for aluminum.
Between 1951 and 1954, Alcan started the Kitimat–Kemano Project. This was one of Canada's biggest engineering projects of the 20th century. They built the Kenney Dam to change the flow of the Nechako River. They also dug a 16 km tunnel under Mount Dubose in the Coast Mountains. This tunnel led to the large hydroelectric Kemano Generating Station, which was built inside the mountain.
Electricity from Kemano travels 80 km over mountains through special power lines. In just three years, 6,000 workers built the dam, tunnel, power plant, power lines, factory, and the town.
The town of Kitimat was built in an old-growth forest. Alcan spent over CA$500 million (about CA$3.3 billion today). They hired over 35,000 workers over five years. This project created the Kenney Dam, the Kemano power plant, an aluminum factory, a year-round deepwater port, and a town for 50,000 people. This big project also encouraged other companies to build in the Kitimat valley.
LNG Canada Terminal Project
On October 1, 2018, Royal Dutch Shell and its partners approved a huge investment. They decided to build a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) port terminal called LNG Canada. A company called TransCanada is also building a pipeline, the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. This pipeline will connect the terminal to the Montney natural gas field in British Columbia.
When finished, LNG Canada will be the first Canadian LNG export terminal on the ocean. It will allow Canada to ship LNG to other countries, mainly in Asia.
This new terminal in Kitimat will connect to the Pacific Ocean through the Douglas Channel. Once the terminal is ready, likely in 2025, large LNG carrier ships will load liquefied natural gas there. They will then sail through the Douglas Channel to their destinations.
Where is Kitimat?
Kitimat is located 63 km south of Terrace and Thornhill on Highway 37. Prince Rupert is 207 km northwest. Prince George is 629 km to the east.
Kitimat's Climate
Kitimat has a climate with mild summers and cold, snowy winters. It gets a lot of snow, about 325 cm each year. The rainiest time is fall, with October being the wettest month. Summers are drier, but it's still too cool to be called a Mediterranean climate. The sky is often cloudy, especially in winter.
| Climate data for Kitimat | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) |
13.0 (55.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
32.8 (91.0) |
37.0 (98.6) |
36.1 (97.0) |
36.0 (96.8) |
33.3 (91.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
13.3 (55.9) |
10.0 (50.0) |
37.0 (98.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.5 (32.9) |
3.1 (37.6) |
6.7 (44.1) |
11.7 (53.1) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.6 (70.9) |
21.4 (70.5) |
16.8 (62.2) |
10.1 (50.2) |
3.9 (39.0) |
1.2 (34.2) |
11.1 (52.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.7 (28.9) |
0.3 (32.5) |
3.2 (37.8) |
7.1 (44.8) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.5 (58.1) |
16.7 (62.1) |
16.5 (61.7) |
12.6 (54.7) |
7.2 (45.0) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
7.4 (45.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.0 (24.8) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
2.4 (36.3) |
5.7 (42.3) |
9.5 (49.1) |
11.7 (53.1) |
11.5 (52.7) |
8.3 (46.9) |
4.3 (39.7) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
3.6 (38.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.0 (−13.0) |
−23.9 (−11.0) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−13.0 (8.6) |
−24.0 (−11.2) |
−25.0 (−13.0) |
−25.0 (−13.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 288.4 (11.35) |
186.8 (7.35) |
160.7 (6.33) |
128.3 (5.05) |
89.5 (3.52) |
73.1 (2.88) |
62.4 (2.46) |
95.7 (3.77) |
190.2 (7.49) |
323.5 (12.74) |
320.3 (12.61) |
291.8 (11.49) |
2,210.7 (87.04) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 195.7 (7.70) |
133.6 (5.26) |
134.5 (5.30) |
123.0 (4.84) |
88.7 (3.49) |
73.1 (2.88) |
62.4 (2.46) |
95.7 (3.77) |
190.2 (7.49) |
319.9 (12.59) |
266.6 (10.50) |
202.7 (7.98) |
1,886.1 (74.26) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 92.7 (36.5) |
53.2 (20.9) |
26.3 (10.4) |
5.4 (2.1) |
0.8 (0.3) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
3.6 (1.4) |
53.7 (21.1) |
89.1 (35.1) |
324.6 (127.8) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 19.7 | 15.5 | 18.5 | 17.2 | 15.8 | 14.8 | 13.2 | 13.7 | 16.9 | 22.1 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 210.5 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 14.5 | 12.0 | 16.7 | 17.0 | 15.8 | 14.8 | 13.2 | 13.7 | 16.9 | 21.9 | 18.8 | 14.8 | 190.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 9.2 | 6.3 | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 11.4 | 41.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 48.5 | 75.9 | 103.8 | 153.9 | 199.6 | 189.5 | 214.3 | 196.5 | 129.7 | 69.2 | 38.1 | 30.9 | 1,449.9 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 19.5 | 27.7 | 28.3 | 36.6 | 40.3 | 37.1 | 41.7 | 42.7 | 33.9 | 21.1 | 14.8 | 13.3 | 29.7 |
Who Lives in Kitimat?
In 2021, the census counted 8,236 people living in Kitimat. This was a small increase from 8,131 people in 2016. Kitimat has a land area of 239.28 square kilometers.
Most people in Kitimat are of European background. The second largest group is Indigenous. There are also people from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Religious Beliefs
According to the 2021 census, the main religious groups in Kitimat include:
- People with no religion (51.4%)
- Christians (44.9%)
- Muslims (1.3%)
- Hindus (0.5%)
- Buddhists (0.4%)
- Sikhs (0.2%)
- Indigenous Spirituality (0.1%)
- Other religions (0.9%)
Media and News
Newspapers
- Kitimat Northern Sentinel
- Skeena Reporter
Radio Stations
- FM 92.1 – CFNR-FM, First Nations community/ classic rock
- FM 92.9 – CJFW-FM-1, country
- FM 97.7 – CKTK-FM, hot adult contemporary
- FM 100.3 – CFKI-FM, CBC Radio 2
- FM 101.1 – CBUK-FM, CBC Radio One
- FM 105.1 – CBUF-FM-5, Première Chaîne (French radio)
Television
- Channel 3 – CFTK-TV, CTV 2 channel
- DTBS cable channel 10
Famous People from Kitimat
- Benjamin Arthur – an actor
- Kayla Czaga – a poet
- Mark Fitzpatrick – a professional ice hockey goalie
- Wayne Kelly – a swimmer who competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
- Jon Kelly – a swimmer who competed in the 1988 Seoul Olympics
- Bill Leeb – a musician and record producer
- Alison Redford – a lawyer and politician, and the first female Premier of Alberta
- Eden Robinson – an author
- Monique Goffinet Miller - the first female CEO of a Commissionaires Division
