Fort St John

The city of Fort St. John is located within northeastern BC. It is the largest city along the Alaska Highway, which it is situated at Mile 47. The city has approximately 22,000 people, with a land area of nearly 22 sq. km. It is a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. In 1794, the area was initially established as a trading post. This makes Fort St. John the oldest established settlement by Europeans in present day B.C. The area is served by the Fort St. John Airport.

As the city sits on the upland prairies north of the Peace River, the type of weather that is experienced here is a continental climate that includes frigid winter temperatures and warm summer temperatures. Nearly all of the time, the wind blows in a southwesterly direction through the town. The average wind speed is about 13.7 km or 8.5 mi. It is good to know that Fort St. John uses Mountain Standard Time in summertime and wintertime. Because of its northern latitude, the town experiences extended daylight hours in summertime and short daylight hours in wintertime.

The city of Fort St. John serves an urban population of around 18,000 individuals, while also serving a rural farming population of almost 12,000 individuals. The city serves as an industrial, service and retail center. The provincial Oil and gas Commission of British Columbia is centered within this particular city. Due to the opening of an oriented strand board plant in 2005, forestry has become more essential to Fort St. John. The basis of the economy has been Agriculture with its servicing and providing a market for the upland prairie communities.

According to the Canadian 2001 Census, there were 9,985 income earners in the city who were over the age of fifteen. Of these earners, 4500 worked all through the year full time. The area's well paying oil and gas industry attracts a relatively young people, that accounts for the high participation rate. The income gap in the male to female ratio in Fort St. John is big.