YLSNE 48

I learned about the town of Kitimat, BC today. Kitimat has been making the news lately as the end of the line for the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline. But that's not why I learned about it. I have a friend that grew up there and as we set up camp today she told me some interesting facts about it. The whole conversation started when another camping companion mentioned that she made sure to buy Alcan aluminum foil. Turns out Alcan is not only the main industry of Kitimat, but Kitimat is a planned town because of the aluminum industry. It was planned and developed in the 50s by the Alcan corporation, so apparently has a bit of that "little-too-organized" feel to it. Alcan Aluminum also brought in a lot of migrant workers for the new plant from Portugal, and to this day Kitimat has a large Portuguese population.