Site C employment declines slightly in January

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The first month of 2025 saw another slight decline in employment at Site C.

BC Hydro has released the employment statistics for January at the in-progress hydroelectric dam, indicating that 1,717 people worked at the facility that month, down from 1,866 in December.

Declines like this are expected, according to BC Hydro, as the project continues to cross major milestones on its way towards becoming fully operational later this year.

Seventy-seven per cent of the construction and non-construction contractors employed at Site C in January were primary B.C. residents, up slightly from the 72 per cent in December.

The number of primary Peace region residents working at the facility, meanwhile, declined slightly from 275 in December to 259 in January. 

That means roughly 15 per cent of the current workforce at Site C live primarily in the Peace region, compared to 14.7 per cent in December.

Fifty-seven workers — about 1.5 per cent — identified as Indigenous at the site in January, down from 66 — about 3.5 per cent — the previous month.

The number of women working at Site C also dropped slightly from 197 to 191. Women now make up roughly 11.1 per cent of the workforce at the facility, compared to 10.5 per cent in December.

The number of apprentices working at the site remained at 89.

The third generating unit for Site C was made operational on February 24th. BC Hydro staff members say the dam is still on track to meet its goal of being fully operational by the fall.