Cassiar
| Coordinates | 59°17′20″N 129°50′45″W |
| Country | British Columbia |
| District | Cassiar-Stikine Regional District |
| Population |
51,989 |
| Postal code area | CS |
| Postal code district | CS1, CS1E, CS1W |
| Suburbs | Centreville (CS2) Chromite (CS5) Good Hope Lake (CS2G) Jade City (CS3) Simmons Lake (CS4) |
Cassiar is a city in northwestern British Columbia. It is the seat of the Cassiar-Stikine Regional District.
Good Hope Lake is an exclave of the Kaska Dena Indigenous Administrative District; it is the seat of the IAD.
Commerce
The main industries in Cassiar are mining of asbestos (Cassiar Chrysotile), gold (Erickson Gold), chromite (Imperial Metals), and jade.
Transportation
Air
Cassiar International Airport (IATA: XCA, ICAO: BCCA) is a hub for Northern Thunderbird Air, who, along with Air BC, Hawkair, and Pacific Western Airlines, offer scheduled domestic flights to Vancouver, Victoria, and various destinations in northern BC; Northern Thunderbird also operate flights from Cassiar to Edmonton, Whitehorse, and Yellowknife in Canada.
Canadian North is considering the addition of a Yellowknife–Cassiar service in the near future.
Stikine Airlines, one of the predecessors of Northern Thunderbird Air, was founded in Cassiar in 1955 and was based at Cassiar International until its merger with Upper Fraser Airways in 1966.
Rail
The Cassiar Central Railway was established in 1897 with the goal of building a railway from Prince George to Whitehorse, Yukon. Opened in 1899 with a line from Cassiar to Porter Landing, by the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 the CCR operated over 193 miles of railway between Dease Lake and Klinkit. Although some survey work towards Teslin, Yukon was completed after the war, the company went bankrupt in 1927. The track then sat abandoned for nearly 50 years, until in the early 1970s the plans to build a railway to Whitehorse were revived. When the Skeena Pacific Railway reached Dease Lake in 1973, BC Rail began to refurbish the abandoned railway, finishing the work in time for the 1975 opening of the Stikine Line from Fort St James to Dease Lake. The new section from Klinkit to Teslin, Yukon was completed in 1977, whilst the extension to Whitehorse, called the Klondike Line, was opened in 1979. The railway from Dease Lake to Teslin was named the Cassiar Central Line in honour of the original railway.
Cassiar is served by four stations along the Cassiar Central Line. In addition to freight services, BC Rail operate Limited Express and Local passenger services that call at these stations. The Klondike Limited (Trains 121/122) runs thrice weekly between Prince George and Whitehorse, Yukon, the Aurora Borealis (Trains 123/124) - a joint operation with VIA Rail of Canada - runs weekly between Edmonton, Alberta and Whitehorse, and the Alaska Limited (Trains 191/192) - operated jointly with the Alaska Railroad - runs weekly between Seattle, Washington and Anchorage, Alaska; these Limited Express trains call only at Cassiar Station. There are also two Local services that run twice daily in each direction calling at all stations, Trains 8201.1-2/8202.1-2: between Kluakaz and Cassiar, and Trains 8301.1-2/8302.1-2 between Cassiar and Whitehorse.
Railway stations in Cassiar
| Station | Location | Railway | Line | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassiar Station | Cassiar | BC Rail | Cassiar Central Line | Limited Express, Local, freight |
| Chromite Station | Chromite | BC Rail | Cassiar Central Line | Local, freight |
| Jade City Station | Jade City | BC Rail | Cassiar Central Line | Local, freight |
| Simmons Lake Station | Simmons Lake | BC Rail | Cassiar Central Line | Local, freight |
Road
The Stikine Highway (BC Highway 37) runs through Cassiar.
Sport
Football
Two football clubs are located in Cassiar, Cassiar City FC and Jade City FC.
Cassiar City FC are one of only two fully professional sports club in Cassiar, and by far the most successful of the two football clubs. Presently playing in the Northwest Football Championship, their home is the multipurpose Erickson Gold Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,420 spectators. They entered the BC Football League in 1930 and played at all levels, including 21 seasons in Division One, until they were relegated from Division Three in 2009. Since then, they returned to Division Three in 2014 and 2018, but were relegated again after a single season. They won the Division Two championship in 1936, the Division Three championship in 1960, the Northwest Football Championship in 1929 and 2017, and, unusually, the Northeast Football Championship in 2013. They have reached the Final of the BC FA Cup on five occasions, winning the Cup in 1948 and 1981, and losing in 1938, 1953, and 1980.
Jade City FC, playing at Allan Lake Park in Jade City (capacity: 1,540), are a semi-professional club presently playing in Division Two of the Northwest Football Championship. After winning the Northwest Championship in 1993 they were promoted to Division Three of the Football League for the 1994 season, but having managed only two wins and finishing last were immediately relegated, and have not returned to the League since then. Their best performances in the BC FA Cup came in 1974 and 2007, when they reached the Third Round.
Rugby
Cassiar City RFC, presently competing in the BCRU Second Division, play at Erickson Gold Stadium.
Military
RBCAF Cassiar is a radio station of the Royal BC Air Force located on the grounds of the airport and is home to 501 (Comms) Squadron; between 1975 and 2008 it was also home to 605 (SAM) Squadron.