Sep 2, 2026
The federal government plans to spend more than $50 million to create three new salmon hatcheries in British Columbia. As any coastal resident will explain, this injection of federal funding is not just about the money — or the fish — it’s about construction jobs, local contracts and a bet on reviving an industry that has been shrinking for decades.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) announced the funding in late August, with the projects planned on or run by local First Nations. For residents of Prince George, Hanceville and the Skeena region of BC, the spending has a direct economic impact. Local tradespeople will be required to build the projects, while local businesses will get contracts related to the build of all three salmon hatcheries. Then there’s the long-term boost to recreational and commercial fishing — additional dollars will now flow through these communities and help rebuild this integral economic sector.
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For taxpayers, here’s what the funding covers, what it could mean for the people living near the projects and what is means for Canada’s overall economic survival.
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Where is the money going?
The largest segment of the funds — $38 million — is going toward the Upper Fraser River Salmon Conservation Hatchery in Prince George, BC. The new hatchery will be located on the north bank of the Nechako River near its confluence with the Fraser. DFO will own and operate the site, working alongside the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation.
Two smaller contracts, worth about $7.5 million each, are funding a hatchery near Hanceville, BC in the central interior, which the Tsilhqot’in First Nation will operate once complete, and the next phase of the Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery in the Skeena River system, co-managed with the Gitanyow First Nation.
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Why is Ottawa spending on hatcheries now?
BC’s salmon fishery has been shrinking for decades. Its share of the province’s capture-fishery gross domestic product (GDP) fell from close to a third in 1991 to under 8% by 2022, according to a provincial fisheries and aquaculture sector report. Chinook and sockeye stocks in particular have struggled with climate change, habitat loss and fishing pressure.
That decline has a dollar figure attached. Recreational salmon fishing alone contributes roughly $250 million to BC’s GDP annually, and supports more than 2,500 jobs and $168 million in household income, according to DFO’s most recent economic profile.
Add to this the province’s commercial salmon harvest, which adds about $21 million in GDP and about 1,200 jobs once spinoff processing and wholesaling are counted.
Combined, the three new facilities are expected to raise more than one million juvenile Chinook and sockeye salmon each year. To be clear, this injection of one million juveniles is small — roughly 0.3% against the existing national salmon enhancement program (SEP) that produces an average of 328 million juvenile salmon each year and supports roughly $19 million a year in commercial marine fishing and processing activity, along with Indigenous and First Nations community involvement. Any addition to Canada’s SEP could help the country’s GDP — with Chinook and sockeye tending to carry higher per-fish commercial value than pinks or chum salmon.
These economic benefits should have a long-term impact — as well as a cultural one. According to the most recent State of Salmon report released by the Vancouver-based Pacific Salmon Foundation, the majority of salmon populations in B.C. and Yukon remain below their long-term averages, despite some promising signs of recovery in certain areas. For local First Nations, the investment in helping salmon populations is an investment in culture and heritage.
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As Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dolleen Logan explained during the announcement in August: “Salmon are not simply a resource. Salmon are relatives. They are a part of our culture, our identity, our laws, our responsibilities.”
Who stands to benefit?
In the near term, these projects will have a positive impact on local communities through the creation of construction work; once the facilities are up and running, additional jobs will be created in order to maintain ongoing operational work. The Prince George facility alone includes new lab space, egg incubation rooms and both indoor and outdoor rearing tanks — the kind of build that keeps local trades, suppliers and services busy for months, not weeks.
Longer term, two of the three hatcheries will be run directly by the Tsilhqot’in and Gitanyow First Nations, which means ongoing staffing, training and operational spending stays within those communities instead of flowing to an outside operator. DFO has also flagged training and development opportunities tied to the Prince George project specifically, alongside its conservation goals.
For the wider regional economy, the payoff is less immediate but still real. More juvenile salmon released today can mean more adult fish returning in future years, which supports the guides, lodges, tackle shops and processors whose revenue depends on healthy runs. Given that revenue from recreational fishing businesses in southern BC averages about $82 million per year — in addition to the $19 million generated by the north and central coast recreational fishing business — the federal investment into hatcheries means building a thriving coastal sector for the near- and long-term.
What should residents watch for next?
In Prince George (PG), BC, construction is already underway, with local PG-based firm, IDL Projects Inc., awarded the general contract. Job postings and ongoing notices will be made by IDL Projects, as well as DFO’s Pacific Region website and through the Tsilhqot’in and Gitanyow First Nations.
While this injection of cash won’t reverse a decades-long decline, it will put real construction dollars — and real jobs — into three B.C. communities, while helping protect the salmon runs that have sustained local First Nations and their cultures for generations.
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Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors.
