Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada. Its location is on

Kaien Island Kaien Island is a Canadian island on the coast of British Columbia, just north of the mouth of the Skeena River and to the south of the Alaska Panhandle. The island has an area of about , is roughly oval, and about long along its long axis. The is ...

near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12,220 people as of 2016.

History

Coast Tsimshian occupation of the Prince Rupert Harbour area spans at least 5,000 years. About 1500 B.C. there was a significant population increase, associated with larger villages and house construction. The early 1830s saw a loss of Coast Tsimshian influence in the Prince Rupert Harbour area.

Founding

Prince Rupert replaced

Port Simpson A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

as the choice for the

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...

(GTP) western terminus. It also replaced Port Essington, away on the southern bank of the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...

, as the business centre for the North Coast . The GTP purchased the 14,000-acre First Nations reserve, and received a 10,000-acre grant from the BC government. A post office was established on November 23, 1906. Surveys and clearing, that commenced in that year, preceded the laying out of the 2,000-acre town site. A $200,000 provincial grant financed plank sidewalks, roads, sewers and water mains. Kaien Island, which comprised damp muskeg overlaying a solid rock foothill, proved expensive both for developing the land for railway and town use. By 1909, the town possessed 4 grocery, 2 hardware, 2 men's clothing, a furniture, and several fruit and cigar stores, a wholesale drygoods outlet, a wholesale/retail butcher, 2 banks, the GTP hotel and annex, and numerous lodging houses and restaurants. The first lot sales that year created a bidding war. Prince Rupert was incorporated on March 10, 1910. Although he never visited Canada, it was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the first Governor of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, as the result of a nation-wide competition held by the Grand Trunk Railway, the prize for which was $250. With the collapse of the real estate boom in 1912, and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, much of the company's land remained unsold.

Charles Melville Hays Charles Melville Hays (May 16, 1856 – April 15, 1912) was the president of the Grand Trunk Railway. He began working in the railroad business as a clerk at the age of 17 and quickly rose through the ranks of management to become the General M ...

, president of the GTP, whose business plan made little sense, was primarily responsible for the bankruptcy of the company, and the establishment of a town that would take decades to achieve even a small fraction of the promises touted. Mount Hays, the larger of two mountains on Kaien Island, is named in his honour, as is a local high school, Charles Hays Secondary School. The train station, a listed historic place, replaced the temporary building in 1922.

20th and 21st centuries

Local politicians used the promise of a highway connected to the mainland as an incentive, and the city grew over the next several decades. American troops finally completed the road between Prince Rupert and

Terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

during World War II to help move thousands of allied troops to the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

and the Pacific. Several forts were built to protect the city at Barrett Point and Fredrick Point. Capitol Mall and theatre in Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Capitol Mall and theatre in Prince Rupert, British Columbia

After World War II, the fishing industry, particularly for

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and '' Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

, and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

became the city's major industries. Prince Rupert was considered the Halibut Capital of the World from the opening of the Canadian Fish & Cold Storage plant in 1912 until the early 1980s. A long-standing dispute over fishing rights in the Dixon Entrance to the

Hecate Strait , image = HecateStrait(PittIsland).JPG , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = Hecate Strait and Pitt Island , image_bathymetry = Loc-QCS-Hecate-Dixon.png , alt_bathymetry = , caption ...

(pronounced as "hekk-et") between American and Canadian fisherman led to the formation of the 54-40 or Fight Society. The

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

maintains a base in nearby

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 20 ...

. In 1946, the Government of Canada, through an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

, granted the Department of National Defence the power to administer and maintain facilities to collect data for communications research. The

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

was allotted forty positions, seven of which were in Prince Rupert. In either 1948 or 1949, Prince Rupert ceased operations, and the positions were relocated to

RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

Whitehorse, Yukon Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

. The 1949 Queen Charlotte earthquake, with a surface wave magnitude of 8.1 and a maximum

Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...

of VIII (''Severe''), broke windows and swayed buildings on August 22. In Summer 1958, Prince Rupert endured a riot over racial discrimination. Ongoing discontent with heavy-handed police practices towards Aboriginals escalated to rioting during BC Centennial celebrations following the arrest of an Aboriginal couple. As many as 1,000 people (one tenth of the city's population at the time) began smashing windows and skirmishing with police. The Riot Act was read for only the second time since Confederation. Over the years, hundreds of students were said to have largely paid their way through school by working in the lucrative fishing industry. Construction of a pulp mill began in 1947 and it was operating by 1951. In 1958,

Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of ...

industrialist Sohen Singh Gill established Prince Rupert Sawmills at the location of the old dry dock on Prince Rupert's waterfront. In the 1960s, the majority of the town's workforce was employed either in the fishery or at Gill's sawmill. The construction of coal and grain shipping terminals followed. From the 1960s into the 1980s, the city constructed many improvements, including a

civic centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

, swimming pool, public library,

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

and performing arts centre (recently renamed "The Lester Centre of the Arts"). These developments marked the town's changes from a fishing and mill town into a small city. In the 1990s, both the fishing and forestry industries suffered a significant downturn. In July 1997, Canadian fishermen blockaded the

Alaska Marine Highway The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...

ferry M/V ''Malaspina'', keeping it in the port as a protest in the salmon fishing rights dispute between Alaska and British Columbia. The forest industry declined when a softwood lumber dispute arose between Canada and the USA. After the pulp mill closed, many people were unemployed, and much modern machinery was left unused. After reaching a peak of about 18,000 in the early 1990s, Prince Rupert's population began to decline, as people left in search of work. The years from 1996 to 2004 were difficult for Prince Rupert, with closure of the pulp mill, the burning down of a fish plant and a significant population decline. 2005 may be viewed as a critical turning point: the announcement of the construction of a

container port A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...

in April 2005, combined with new ownership of the pulp mill, the opening in 2004 of a new

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

dock, the resurgence of coal and grain shipping, and the prospects of increased

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

and tourism may foretell a bright future for the area. The port is becoming an important trans-Pacific hub.

Geography

Prince Rupert is on

(approximately 770 km (480 mi) northwest of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

), just north of the mouth of

, and linked by a short bridge to the mainland. The city is along the island's northwestern shore, fronting on

Prince Rupert Harbour A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. It lies at similar latitudes to

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

and the city of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the northeast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. At the secondary western terminus of

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

16 (the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway (french: Route Yellowhead) is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western ...

), Prince Rupert is approximately 16 km west of Port Edward, 144 km west of

, and 715 km west of Prince George.

Climate

Prince Rupert has an oceanic climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfb'') and is also in a temperate rainforest. Prince Rupert is known as "The City of Rainbows", as it is Canada's wettest city, with of annual precipitation on average, of which is rain; in addition, 240 days per year receive at least some measurable precipitation, and there are only 1230 hours of sunshine per year, so it is regarded as the municipality in Canada which receives the lowest amount of sunshine annually. Tourist brochures boast about Prince Rupert's "100 days of sunshine". However, Stewart, British Columbia receives even less sunshine, at 985 sunshine hours per year. Out of Canada's 100 largest cities, Prince Rupert has the coolest summer, with an average high of . Winters in Prince Rupert are mild by Canadian standards, with the average afternoon temperature in December, January and February being which is the tenth warmest in Canada, surpassed only by other

cities. Summers are mild and comparatively less rainy, with an August daily mean of . Spring and autumn are not particularly well-defined; rainfall nevertheless peaks in the autumn months. Winters are chilly and damp, but warmer than most locations at a similar latitude, due to Pacific moderation: the January daily mean is , although frosts and blasts of cold Arctic air from the northeast are not uncommon. Snow amounts are moderate for Canadian standards, averaging and occurring mostly from December to March. Snowfall in Prince Rupert is rare and the snow normally melts within a few days, although individual snowstorms may bring copious amounts of snow. Wind speeds are relatively strong, with prevailing winds blowing from the southeast. The highest temperature ever recorded in Prince Rupert was on 6 June 1958. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 4 January 1965.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Prince Rupert had a population of 12,300 living in 5,072 of its 5,747 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 12,220. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Population by age group ( 2001 Canadian census and BC Stats Population Estimates, 2004): *Under 18 years = 4,320 (28.2%) *18 – 34 years = 3,370 (22.0%) *35 – 54 years = 5,020 (32.8%) *55 – 74 years = 2,075 (13.6%) *75 years and over = 515 (3.4%) *Total = 15,300 (100.0%) *Median age = 34.8

Ethnicity

As of the 2001 Canadian census, among Canadian municipalities with a population of 5,000 or more, Prince Rupert had the highest percentage of First Nations population.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Prince Rupert included: *

Irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ...

(6,825 persons or 56.0%) *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(4,335 persons or 35.6%) *

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

(415 persons or 3.4%) *

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

(190 persons or 1.6%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(165 persons or 1.4%) * Islam (95 persons or 0.8%) * Indigenous Spirituality (30 persons or 0.2%) *

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

(15 persons or 0.1%)

Government

City Hall, Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Totem poles near City Hall, Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Prince Rupert is part of the Skeena—Bulkley Valley federal riding (electoral district). Taylor Bachrach is the Member of Parliament for the riding, and is a member of the New Democratic Party. In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Prince Rupert is a large portion of the North Coast riding. Jennifer Rice is the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

. She is a member of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia. The NDP traditionally has strong support in the region.

Education

Prince Rupert is in BC School District 52 along with Port Edward. A

Coast Mountain College Coast Mountain College (CMTN) is an accredited, publicly-funded post-secondary educational institution that serves the communities of British Columbia's northwest region. CMTN offers field schools, college access, trades, university credit, healt ...

campus is located at 353 5th Ave that also serves as a campus for the

University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive public university in British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and ...

Notable residents

* Thomas Dufferin "Duff" Pattullo, politician: mayor of Prince Rupert, and

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

(1933 to 1941); member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. *

Alexander Malcolm Manson Alexander Malcolm Manson (October 7, 1883 – September 25, 1964) was a British Columbia judge and politician in the Liberal Party. Positions he held included Speaker, Minister of Labour and Attorney General. He was later appointed to the Supr ...

, the first lawyer in Prince Rupert, was elected in 1916 to the BC Legislature in the riding of Omineca, Speaker of the House in 1921, appointed as both Attorney-General and Minister of Labour in 1922; later appointed to the BC Supreme Court. * Iona Campagnolo, politician: Prince Rupert City Council,

candidate elected in the federal riding of Skeena; in 1976 she was appointed Minister of Amateur Sports. President of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1982, and served as British Columbia's Lieutenant-Governor from 2001 to 2007. * Dan Miller, politician: elected to the Prince Rupert Electoral District, and from August 1999 through February 2000 was Premier. * Frederick Peters, former Premier of Prince Edward Island and legal partner of Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper, served as City Solicitor from 1911 to 1919. *

Rod Brind'Amour Roderic Jean Brind'Amour (born August 9, 1970) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Brind'Amour played 20 seasons in the National H ...

, former captain of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes * Lisa Walters, LPGA golf champion * Paul Wong, Canadian Video Artist, now based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

* Sid Dickens, an artist, now based in Vancouver, British Columbia *

Gloria Macarenko Gloria Macarenko, is a Canadian television and radio journalist. From 1989 until 2014, she was the longtime host or co-host of CBC Vancouver's supper-hour television newscast at 5:00 or 6:00. She later hosted the CBC Radio One local program '' B ...

, Canadian Journalist, co-anchor CBC Vancouver, born and raised in Prince Rupert *Jina You, Canadian television news broadcaster * Takao Tanabe, CM, OBC is a painter * Bernice Liu, is an actress and singer * John S. MacDonald, University Professor, founding principal of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd
Peter Lester
Prince Rupert's longest serving mayor Peter J. Lester was elected as a council member in 1956 and went on to become mayor in 1958. He served as the mayor of Prince Rupert for 17 terms of office for 36 years continuously. Recipient of the order of BC. * Don Yeomans, Haida artist

Industry

Prince Rupert relies on the fishing industry, port, and tourism.

Transport

Seaport

A belief at the beginning of the 1900s that trade expansion was shifting from Atlantic to Pacific destinations, and the benefit of being closer to Asia than existing west coast ports, proved wishful. Reduced transit times to eastern North America and Europe did not outweigh the fact that rail transport has always been far more expensive than by sea. The opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

in 1914 exacerbated the problem. During 1906–08, the federal government undertook a

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

of the Prince Rupert harbour and approaches, finding it free of rocks or obstructions, and sufficient depth for good anchorage. Furthermore, it offered an easy entrance, fine shelter, and ample space. By 1909, a 1,500-foot wharf had been constructed. The port possesses the deepest

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

-free

natural harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

in North America, and the 3rd deepest natural harbour in the world. Situated at 54° North, the harbour is the northwesternmost port in North America linked to the continent's railway network. The port is the first inbound and last outbound port of call for some cargo ships travelling between eastern Asia and western North America since it is the closest North American port to key Asian destinations. The CN

Aquatrain The Aquatrain (or AquaTrain) was an unpowered unmanned sea-going rail barge operated by Canadian National Railway (CN) between Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada, and the Alaska Railroad in Whittier, Alaska, United States. It is the largest ...

barge carries rail cargo between Prince Rupert and Whittier, Alaska. Passenger ferries operating from Prince Rupert include

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

' service to the

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

and to

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east end of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 4,132 as of the last census (2016). It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

, and Alaska Marine Highway ferries to

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 20 ...

, Juneau and Sitka and many other ports along Alaska's

Inside Passage The Inside Passage (french: Passage Intérieur) is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeaste ...

. The Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal is co-located with the Prince Rupert railway station, from which

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

offers a thrice-weekly

Jasper – Prince Rupert train Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> i ...

, connecting to Prince George and

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

, and through a connection with '' The Canadian'', to the rest of the continental passenger rail network. The Prince Rupert Port Authority is responsible for the port's operation. Much of the harbour is formed by the shelter provided by Digby Island, which lies windward of the city and contains the Prince Rupert Airport. The city is on

and the harbour also includes Tuck Inlet, Morse Basin, Wainwright Basin, and Porpoise Harbour, as well as part of the waters of Chatham Sound which takes in Ridley Island.

Port facilities

Prince Rupert is ideally located for a port, having the deepest natural harbour depths on the continent.''"Prince Rupert Container Terminal Opening New World of Opportunities"''
- Western Economic Diversification Canada - September 12, 2007 The city's port capacity is comparable with the

Port of Vancouver The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, whic ...

's. Unlike most west coast ports, there is little traffic congestion at Prince Rupert. Finally, the extremely mountainous nature and narrow channels of the surrounding area leaves Prince Rupert as the only suitable port location in the inland passage region. The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is a federally appointed agency which administers and operates various port properties on the harbour. Previously run by the National Harbours Board and subsequently the Prince Rupert Port Corporation, the PRPA is now a locally run organization. PRPA port facilities include: * Atlin Terminal * Northlands Terminal * Lightening Dock * Ocean Dock * Westview Dock * Fairview Terminal * Prince Rupert Grain * Ridley Terminals * Sulphur Corporation All PRPA facilities are serviced by CN Rail. The

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

maintains CCG Base Seal Cove on Prince Rupert Harbour where vessels are homeported for search and rescue and maintenance of aids to navigation throughout the north coast. CCG also bases helicopters at Prince Rupert for servicing remote locations with aids to navigation, as well as operating a Marine Communications Centre, covering a large Vessel Traffic Services zone from

at the northern tip of

to the International Boundary north of Prince Rupert. Both

and the

operate ferries which call at Prince Rupert, with destinations in the Alaska Panhandle, the

, and isolated communities along the central coast to the south.

Airport

Prince Rupert Airport (YPR/CYPR) is on Digby Island. Its position is , and its elevation is 35 m (116 ft) above sea level. The airport consists of one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

, one passenger terminal, and two aircraft stands. Access to the airport is typically achieved by a bus connection that departs from downtown Prince Rupert (Highliner Hotel) and travels to Digby Island by ferry. The airport is served by

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled an ...

from

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It is located from Downtown Vancouver. It is the second busie ...

(YVR). Prince Rupert is also served by the

Prince Rupert/Seal Cove Water Aerodrome Prince Rupert/Seal Cove Water Aerodrome is located adjacent to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. Inland Air, Ocean Pacific Air, Helijet and Lakelse Air (Universal Helicopters) are users of this aerodrome. It is classified as an aerodrome ...

, a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

facility with regularly scheduled, as well as chartered, flights to nearby villages and remote locations.

Railway

CN Rail has a mainline that runs to Prince Rupert from Valemount, British Columbia. At Valemount, the Prince Rupert mainline joins the CN mainline from

. Freight traffic on the Prince Rupert mainline consists primarily of grain, coal, wood products, chemicals, and as of 2007, containers. As the renovations at the Port of Prince Rupert continue, traffic on CN will steadily rise in future years. In addition, a three times weekly

operated by

connects Prince Rupert with Prince George and

. Running during daylight hours to allow passengers to be able to see the scenery along the entire route; the service takes two days and requires an overnight hotel stay in Prince George. The route ends in Jasper and connects passengers with Via's The Canadian, which runs between

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Communications

Telephone, mobile, and Internet service are provided by

CityWest Citywest ( ga, Iarthar na Cathrach) is a suburban development on the southwestern periphery of Dublin, originally developed as a "business campus." It contains a large hotel, with a convention centre, a small shopping centre and a small but e ...

(formerly CityTel). CityWest is owned by the City of Prince Rupert. CityWest provides long-distance telephone service, as does

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

. In September 2005, the city changed CityTel from a city department into an independent corporation named CityWest. The new corporation immediately purchased the local cable company, Monarch Cablesystems, expanding CityWest's customer base to other northwest

communities. Since January 2008,

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

has offered

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

and

EDGE Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...

service in the area—the first real competition to CityWest's virtual monopoly. Rogers offers local numbers based in Port Edward (prefix 600), which is in the local calling zone for the Prince Rupert area. The introduction of Rogers service forced Citywest to form a partnership with Bell Canada to bring digital services to Citywest Mobility, using

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

. In December 2013, CityWest and

TELUS Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

announced it was transitioning out of the cellular business over 2014 and would partner with TELUS to bring CityWest wireless customers onto TELUS' 4G wireless network.

Media

Radio

* AM 860 -

CFPR CFPR is a Canadian radio station, airing at 860 AM broadcasting, AM in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It is part of the CBC Radio One network. History CFPR first aired in 1936 on 580 AM, as a private CBC Radio a ...

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

* FM 98.1 - VF2119, classic rock (repeats CFNR-FM, Terrace) * FM 99.1 -

CHTK-FM CHTK-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts an adult hits format at 99.1 FM in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The station is branded as ''Bounce 99.1''. CHTK is owned by Bell Media. The station has been broadcasting at its current fre ...

EZ Rock EZ Rock was a brand of adult contemporary radio stations heard primarily in Canada. The branding was originally created by Telemedia in the mid-1990s for its AC stations, and based on the call sign of its former Toronto flagship CJEZ-FM (now ...

99.1 * FM 100.7 - CIAJ-FM, Christian programming * FM 101.9 - CJFW-FM-2,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

(repeats

CJFW-FM CJFW-FM is a Canadian radio station, airing at 103.1 FM in Terrace, British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a di ...

)

Television

* Channel 6 - CFTK-TV-1,

CTV 2 CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cab ...

(repeats CFTK-TV, Terrace)

Newspapers

* ''

Prince Rupert Daily News The ''Prince Rupert Daily News'' was a daily newspaper in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, closed in 2010. Its last owner was Black Press, the largest publisher of weekly newspapers in British Columbia, which owns the competing weekly ''Northern Vi ...

'',

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

, (1911–2010) * ''The Northern View'', local

weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly n ...

, 2006–present, owned by

Black Press Black Press Group Ltd. is a Canadian publisher of prominent daily newspapers in Hawaii and Alaska and numerous non-daily newspapers in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and (via Sound Publishing) the U.S. state of Washington. Black Press M ...

* ''The Northern Connector'', regional weekly newspaper covering Prince Rupert, Kitimat and Terrace areas, 2006–present, owned by Black Press

Tourist attractions

Sunken Gardens in Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Prince Rupert is a central point on the

, a route of relatively sheltered waters running along the Pacific coast from

Skagway, Alaska The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...

. Many cruise ships visit during the summer ''en route'' between Alaska to the north and Vancouver and the Lower 48 to the south. Prince Rupert is also the starting point for many wildlife viewing trips including whales, eagles, salmon and grizzly bears. The Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear sanctuary features one of the densest remaining populations in North America; tours can be arranged by water, air (using float planes) or land departing from Prince Rupert.

Neighbouring communities

By virtue of location, Prince Rupert is the gateway to many destinations: * Dodge Cove (1 km, 0.6 mi, west) * Metlakatla (5 km, 3 mi, west) * Port Edward (15 km, 9 mi, south) * Lax Kw'alaams (Port Simpson) (30 km, 19 mi, northwest) * Oona River (43 km, 27 mi, southwest) *

Kitkatla The Kitkatla or Gitxaala are one of the 14 bands of the Tsimshian nation of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and inhabit a village, also called Kitkatla (sometimes called Laxklan), on Dolphin Island, a small island just by Porcher Isla ...

(65 km, 40 mi, south) * Kisumkalum (140 km, 87 mi, east) *

Kitselas {{about, the people, the location, Kitselas, British Columbia, their band government, Kitselas First Nation Kitselas, Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, in northwestern Canada. The origi ...

(142 km, 88 mi, east) *

(146 km, 87 mi, east) *

Hartley Bay Hartley Bay is a First Nations community on the coast of British Columbia. The village is located at the mouth of Douglas Channel, about north of Vancouver and south of Prince Rupert. It is an isolated village accessible only by air and wate ...

(157 km, 98 mi, southeast) The

are to the west of Prince Rupert, across the

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

is 49 nautical miles (90 km, 56 mi) north of Prince Rupert.

In popular culture

The book '' Unmarked: Landscapes Along Highway 16'', written by Sarah de Leeuw, includes an essay about Prince Rupert entitled "Highway of Monsters". Ra McGuire of the band Trooper wrote the song "Santa Maria" on a boat in Prince Rupert's Harbour. Amuro Ray, the protagonist of the

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series

Mobile Suit Gundam , also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an anime television series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcastin ...

, was born and raised in Prince Rupert.Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2, file 1 of Personal History, "Born in Prince Rupert, West Coast of North America"

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in British Columbia North Coast of British Columbia Populated places on the British Columbia Coast Port cities and towns on the Canadian Pacific coast