Industry of British Columbia
Aerospace Industry[edit]
Shipbuilding & Related Industries[edit]
Vancouver Island[edit]
- Western Stevedoring - Cowichan Bay
Victoria[edit]
- Cameron Genoa Mills - Active during the First World War, built ten cargo ships.
- Falconer Marine Industries - Builder of fishing boats, built three target tugs and three harbour patrol craft during the First World War for the RBCN. Closed 1931.
- Foundation Company - Established in 1873 as Colling & Cook's Ways; bought out in 1888 and became Clark & Turpel's Shipyard, subsequently received its current name. Produced wooden coastal vessels for civilian use, during WWI built 25 wooden cargo ships for the RBCN. Closed 1933.
- Harbour Marine Company - Established in 1914 as a subsidiary of the Victoria Machinery Depot on Songhees Band land. Ceased industrial operations in 1927, but the yard continued in use by the Songhees band as a private repair facility for fishing boats and small craft until 1955.
- McKay Cormack - A small builder, started up in 1958 to build search-and-rescue boats for the BC Coast Guard. Closed 1969.
Point Hope Shipyards (1938) -> Point Hope Marine (repair yard, Seaspan subsid.)
-- Same ways leased by Foundation Corporation (above) in 1917
Victoria Machinery Depot [1900-1967, Burrard subsid. after 1951]
-- NB: VMD was orig. engine/boiler maker Albion Iron Works (1882-1900)
Victoria Motor Boat & Repair Works Ltd [WWII, 6 x harbour patrol craft]
ESQUIMALT
Esquimalt Marine Railway Co (1890s) -> B.C. Marine Railway Co -> Yarrows (1913)
Yarrows --> Burrard Yarrows [*] --> Versatile Pacific Shipyards [1984]
-- * Burrard subsid. after 1951; name changed in 1970
Victoria Shipyards (2000, Washington Marine Group)
Minor Yards - Armstrong Bros (Victoria); Alberni Engineering Ltd (Port Alberni, 1914); Cowichan Welding (Duncan); Banks Marine Industries (Parksville); Cholberg (Victoria); Halliday Marine (Nanaimo); Nanaimo Shipyard (Nanaimo, 1930s)
Mainland[edit]
LOWER MAINLAND
VANCOUVER
Benson Bros. (1907) -> AC Benson Shipyard (1925) -> Benson Bros. Shipbuilding (1942)
-- Orig. False Creek, 1938 Coal Harbour, 1974 takes over Star in New West.
BC Marine Ltd (1914*) -> BC Marine Shipbuilders (1962) [Victoria Drive]
-- * 1898 subsid. of B.C. Marine Railway; now part of West Coast Manly Shipyards
Hamilton Bridge -> Western Bridge & Steel Fabrication -> West Coast Shipbuilders [WWII]
-- NB: 'Western Bridge' on site of dormant J. Coughlan & Sons yard (below)
Hoffar Motor Boat Company (1911) -> Hoffar-Beeching (1926) -> Boeing Canada (1927)
-- NB: Boeing built flying boats, actual boat-building stopped in 1939
J. Coughlan & Sons [WWI] (for Columbia St site, see Hamilton Bridge above)
Northern Construction, False Creek (10 x cargo ships, all in 1919)
RivTow Industries (1982) --> West Coast Manly Shipyards
-- RivTow Straits tugs took over BC Marine, John Manly, & West Coast Salvage
Vancouver Dry Dock [WWII Burrard Dry Dock subsidiary]
Vancouver Shipyards (1902-1968, then moved to Pemberton Ave, North Van)
West Coast Salvage & Contracting (1914-1977)
- 1982 aquired for RivTow to become part of West Coast Manly Shipyards
Western Canada Shipyards [WWI, 6 x cargo ships, 1918] False Creek
West Coast Manly Shipyards (see RivTow Industries above)
Minor yards: ABC Boats; Allied Shipbuilders (see North Van); HH Allen; British Columbia Iron Work; Fryatt/Bel-Aire (see N.Van); GE Cates; McAlpin & Allen
NORTH VANCOUVER
Allied Shipbuilders (1967, prior to that, Columbia St, Vancouver)
Bel-Aire Shipyard (1963, prior to that Cardero, Coal Harbour since 1956)
Matsumoto Shipyards (1956-1989, Dollarton)
McKenzie Barge & Derrick (1932) --> McKenzie Barge & Marine Ways (1970-1989)
-- NB: McKenzie B&M still exists at Dollarton but now only as a repair yard
North Vancouver Ship Repair --> Pacific Dry Dock [Burrard subsid. after 1951]
-- Repair yard turned shipyard during WWII, Pacific absorbed into Burrard
Vancouver Shipyards (in downtown Vancouver from 1902-1968)
Wallace Shipbuilding/Burrard Dry Dock [North Van corporate history below]
Wallace Shipyard, Ltd. (1909, incorp False Creek, 1905) -> Wallace Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Ltd. (1920) -> Burrard Dry Dock Co., Ltd. (1926) -> Burrard-Yarrows Ltd. (1979); Versatile Pacific Corp. (1984-1988)
William Lyall Shipbuilding Co Ltd [WWI, 1917-1921]
PORT MOODY
Breezedale Marine [m-1980s, fish boats]
NEW WESTMINSTER
Fraser Shipyard & Industrial Centre
-- NB: operates on former site of Benson Star Shipyard
John Manly Ltd. (1947-1982, bought by RivTow)
-- NB: Name is reclaimed by West Coast Manly Shipyards
Star Shipyards (1980, aka Mercer's) -> Benson Star Shipyard (1973-1984)
New Westminster Shipbuilding & Engineering [WWI, 1918-1919] Poplar Island
Westminster MR [WWI]
COQUITLAM
Pacific Construction [WWI, 2 x cargo ships, 1918]
MAPLE RIDGE
Sylte Shipyard, Ltd. (1992, 100+ hulls to date)
DELTA
Vito Steel Boat & Barge Construction (1965-1987)
INTERIOR - NELSON
Bulger, J.M. [1900-1910, CPR tugs & pass boats]
NORTH COAST - PRINCE RUPERT
Prince Rupert Dry Dock
Sam Matsumoto - fish boats until 1941, relocates to N.Van after WWII internment
Construction, Engineering, and Other Manufacturing Industries[edit]
Incomplete list
Vancouver Island[edit]
- Blue Circle Cement - Nanaimo
- Coulson Manufacturing - Seizai (Port Alberni)
- Lafarge Cement - Tla’matakw (Campbell River)
- Pacific Industrial & Marine Steel Fabrication - Cowichan Bay
Mainland[edit]
- Armtec Drainage Solutions - Dawson Creek
- Bedford Vehicles of British Columbia - Blaenau
- Blue Circle Cement - Blueberry Creek (Castlegar)
- British Columbia Rover-Leyland - Lumby
- Lafarge Cement - Fort St John, Vancouver (South False Creek)
- Okanagan Glass Works - Lavington (Lumby)
- IPSCO - Port Moody (steel mill)
- Vancouver Locomotive Works - Liverpool (Surrey)
Forestry, Lumber, Paper[edit]
Vancouver Island[edit]
- British Columbia Forest Products - Youbou, Crofton (paper mill), Port Alberni (pulp mill)
- China Creek Forest Products - China Creek
- Chinook Forest Products - Royston
- Coastland Wood Industries - Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo)
- Domforco - Harmac (Nanaimo, cellulose plant), Lake Cowichan
- Franklin Forest Products - Franklin
- MacMillan Bloedel - various
- Western Forest Products - Duke Point (Nanaimo)
Mainland[edit]
- Balco Forest Products - Haslett
- BC Forest Products - Boulder (Blaenau, sawmill), Fort St John (plywood factory), Vavenby
- Cariboo Pulp & Paper - Quesnel
- Chetwynd Mechanical Pulp - Sundance Lakes (Chetwynd)
- Clearwater Timber Products - Clearwater
- Conifex Timber - Mackenzie (sawmill), Tl′azt′en (Fort St James, sawmill and plywood factory)
- Creston Mills - Creston (veneer & planer mills)
- Crown Zellerbach - Gambrinus (Armstrong, plywood factory), Princeton (paper mill)
- Dominion Cellulose (Celgar) - Hagwilget, Robson (pulp mill)
- Domforco - Bear Lake (Wakely, Polar pulp mill), Chetwynd (sawmill), Isle Pierre (Prince George, sawmill), Mackenzie, Northwood (Prince George, pulp mill), Taylor (Fort St John), Vavenby
- East Fraser Fibre - Mackenzie
- Eurocol Pulp & Paper - Kitimat
- Fadear Creek Lumber Company - Louis Creek
- Gilbert Smith Forest Products - Barriere (sawmill)
- Houston Forest Products - Barrett (Houston)
- Interfor - Cuprum (Grand Forks)
- Lavington Planer Mills - Lavington (Lumby, largest furniture factory in BC)
- Louisiana Pacific of BC - Dawson Creek (paper mill)
- Mackenzie Pulp Mill - Mackenzie
- MacMillan Bloedel - Ashcroft, Donald (Golden, sawmill and plywood factory), Fort St John
- Martin Paper Company - Sooyoos
- Nehaliston Lumber Company - Barriere
- Quesnel River Pulp - Quesnel
- Vaagen Fibre - Midway
- West Fraser Mills - Quesnel
Mining and smelting[edit]
Vancouver Island[edit]
Mainland[edit]
- Cassiar Chrysotile - Cassiar (asbestos)
- Cominco - Archibald (Grand Forks, Jade Landing (copper and gold), Rock Candy Mine (fluorspar and silica)), Trail (smelter), Warfield (fertiliser plant)
- Craigmont Mines - Coyle (Merritt)
- Dominion Silica - Dawson Creek
- Erickson Gold - Cassiar (gold)
- Eurocol Pulp & Paper - Kitimat
- Gibraltar Mine - Gibraltar (McLeese Lake)
- Granby Copper - Granby (Grand Forks)
- Imperial Metals - Chromite (Cassiar (chromite)), Likely, Red Chris Mine (Tattoga (copper and gold))
Other Industries[edit]
- CP Hotels - hotel chain, subsidiary of CP Rail
- CP Telecom - telecommunications provider, subsidiary of CP Rail
- Columbia Chemicals - Prince George (primarily sodium chlorate and chlor-alkali products)
- Labbatt's Brewery - New Westminster
- Molson Brewery - Vancouver
- North Pacific Cannery - Port Edward
- Peace District Agricultural Co-Op - Dawson Creek
- PeroxyChem - Prince George
- Pickseed BC - Dawson Creek
- PetroBC
- Petrol stations of British Columbia
- Polysar - Annacis Island, New Westminster