Invest in Castlegar

Why Castlegar

Castlegar offers a combination that's hard to find elsewhere in BC: regional centrality at small-city scale, a college-trained workforce, an airport with regular Vancouver service, and a cost structure that lets businesses operate sustainably without coastal-BC overhead.

Specific advantages

• Location. At the confluence of two highways (3 and 3A) and two rivers, Castlegar serves as the natural hub for surrounding communities.
• Selkirk College. Trades, business, technology, and arts programs supplying local employers.
• West Kootenay Regional Airport (YCG). Daily flights to Vancouver. Unusual for a city this size.
• Cost of operation. Commercial rents and labour costs significantly below coastal BC.
• Quality of life. The reason employees stay once they arrive.

How the City helps

• The Chief Administrative Officer's office handles relocation and expansion inquiries directly.
• The Downtown Revitalization framework includes development incentive guidelines.
• Business licensing is straightforward and routed through Development Services.
• Pre-application meetings for any planned project are free and substantially de-risk the permit process.

Where to start

Call City Hall at 250-365-7227 and ask about Invest in Castlegar. You’ll be routed to the right person, typically the CAO’s office for substantial relocation or expansion projects.

The shortest version of the case for Castlegar: small enough that the CAO returns your call, big enough that the airport, college, and regional health centre already exist. That combination is rare in BC and it’s the reason businesses end up here.