B.C.’s premier says companies and investors are gaining confidence in major project proponents in the province, despite some economic uncertainty that remains.
“I mean, 2025 was a really difficult year for a lot of British Columbians and it didn’t have to be,” Premier David Eby said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“The year started for me with, in many ways, with some tweets on Truth Social, and it ended with the actual impact of those tweets on British Columbians, especially in the forest sector.”
However, Eby is optimistic heading into 2026.
“B.C. is indeed positioned to be the economic engine of our country’s economy going forward,” he said.
The recent merger between Canadian natural resources company Teck Resources Ltd. and Britain’s Anglo American PLC means the majority of the $4.5 billion investment will be spent in B.C., Eby said on Wednesday.
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Their head office will be in the Lower Mainland and Eby says he expects that investment to be spent at the Teck smelter in Trail, the Highland Valley Copper Mine near Kamloops and Galore Creek in northwest B.C.
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“This four-and-a-half-billion-dollar commitment over five years means thousands of jobs in construction and servicing these mines, but also for suppliers in the Fraser Valley, in the Lower Mainland and office jobs and knock-on benefits right across the province,” Eby said.
In addition, Eby said Artemis Gold, a mine north of Prince George, announced this week that they will be expanding in B.C. and investing $1 billion.
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“It means 1,200 permanent jobs, 2,000 construction jobs and comes on the heels of the Highland Valley Copper expansion announcement, which itself was 2,000 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs, a multi-billion dollar investment by Teck,” Eby said.
Last month, Eby shared a new 10-year economic strategy that embraces speeding up the building of major projects.
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The plan, called ‘Look West‘, aims to face the challenges brought on by the U.S. tariffs, according to the government, and strengthen the economy while speeding up and diversifying key sectors.
The plan states that by 2032, B.C. will have three new natural gas projects, four new or expanded mines in operation and eight new renewable energy projects operational.
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B.C. announces ‘Look West’ plan
The federal government also announced earlier this year that it plans to fast-track four major B.C. projects, including phase two of LNG Canada and the Ksi Lisims LNG export terminal.
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