North Cowichan is the fifth oldest municipality in B.C. and, in 2023, celebrates its 150th anniversary.
In the fall of 2022, the Mayor of North Cowichan established an Economic Development Committee. In response to a changing economic landscape, which included a declining forestry sector, the financial viability of the paper operation at Paper Excellence’s Crofton facility, pressure to reduce logging of its forest lands, and the adoption of the Official Community Plan, which commits to support new business models and more sustainable economic sectors, the municipality wishes to develop an economic development action plan.
This project will engage a consultant to guide the Municipality of North Cowichan through the process of developing an economic development action plan. The document will offer an opportunity to maximize North Cowichan’s industrial lands’ contribution toward green investment and job creation. It will also align municipal initiatives with regional objectives and provide a roadmap to implement strategies supporting economic opportunities.
Island Coastal Economic Trust approved funding for this project in 2023 through the Investment Readiness program.
We work in reciprocal relationships with coastal communities across the ancestral territories of the Kwak̓wala, Nuučaan̓uɫ, Éy7á7juuthem, Ligwilda'xw, Pəntl'áč, She shashishalhem, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Hul’q’umi’num’, diitiidʔaatx̣, SENĆOŦEN, Lekwungen, and T’Sou-ke speaking peoples.
