Nelson city council is looking at how it can support Castlegar’s efforts to improve reliability at the West Kootenay Regional Airport.
The airport came up during Tuesday’s council meeting after a presentation from the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce, which identified air access as one potential way to strengthen the region’s winter tourism economy.
Councillor Kate Tait asked what role Nelson could play in advocating for improvements at the airport, particularly as the region looks to attract remote workers whose employers are based elsewhere.
“One way to bring money into the community is to just have folks who are employed outside of the existing services, like remote workers, because those wages come into the community and they get spent here,” said Tait.
“So when we talk about the airport, for folks that their business is or their company is based in Toronto, but they wanna live and work here but they need to get back there however many times a year… what is the right body to keep advocating for a betterment of the airport in Castlegar?”
She asked whether that advocacy should come from the Regional District of Central Kootenay, the City of Castlegar or another body.
City Manager Kevin Cormack pointed to the City of Castlegar as the main driver of the airport file, with support from the regional district. Much of the work is at the federal level, involving Transport Canada and Nav Canada.
Castlegar’s airport push
Castlegar has been working since 2017 on a GPS-based landing approach that would allow aircraft to land in lower ceilings and improve reliability during poor weather.
The city’s latest application is currently in a 200-day Transport Canada review. If approved, it would then go to Nav Canada before testing and implementation.
The project has also received provincial backing. In April, B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon urged the federal government to approve the proposal, pointing to its potential impact on economic resilience, emergency response and growth in the region.
Castlegar is also investing in the airport itself. The city has approved borrowing up to $5 million for a terminal expansion, while previous apron and taxiway work was intended to accommodate larger aircraft and multiple planes at once.
Nelson’s support
Nelson has supported Castlegar’s airport advocacy before, including through letters of support.
Mayor Janice Morrison said Castlegar had recently had what she described as a positive conversation with relevant federal groups and was hoping the airport issues could be resolved soon.
“They were hoping by 2027 that we would have these airport issues solved.”
She said she let the Castlegar mayor know to call Nelson when another letter of support was needed.
Community Planning Manager Chris Johnson added that the local business community anticipates that more reliable air service could have a significant economic impact across the region.
He said there could also be opportunities for the airport to play a larger role as a regional logistics hub.
“There is a lot of anticipation that it will significantly change things, and not just from people being able to come here and be remotely employed, but as well becoming more of a logistics hub, to have that consistency through that airport because it is so central in this, smaller region. There are potentially a lot of efficiencies there,” said Johnson.
“So there’s quite a lot of excitement that comes along with that for the economic impact.”
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