August 12, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Prince Rupert, Historic & Heritage Sites
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The North Pacific Cannery in Port Edward should definitely be a must see stop on any travellers list while travelling in the Prince Rupert area. Located just a short distance outside of Prince Rupert, Port Edward is a beautiful little area with a lot of history. The cannery, which was shut down in 1980, holds a significant piece of history for the area. Fully operational during the 1900s, the cannery supplied jobs to many Chinese, Japanese and First Nations peoples, who lived in company housing right on the site with their families. In the 1950s the cannery took down two buildings and then built three brand new ones along with four great big cylinders used for fish oil extraction. The cannery housed a very substantial assembly line where the fish would come in, be clean and bones removed, gone through blades to cut them to pieces, and then eventually making their way to the final stage where they would be placed into tins and sealed for shipment. The fishing industry was a significant enterprise back then, and while it is still today in that region, the cannery was shut down. The workers would definitely have had to deal with a very strong fish smell from living and working in that area for so long. Many of the buildings today have not been as well preserved and are falling apart in some areas, but the current employees of the National Historic Site are working hard to maintain what they have remaining and to do repairs on the current site. Next time you find yourself in this area, definitely check out this National Historic Site of Canada - the North Pacific Cannery!