The District of Port Edward will be spending $5,200 to help better promote North Pacific Cannery as part of a larger marketing plan by the Port Edward Historical Society.
The society is applying for a $15,000 grant from the Coast Sustainability Trust, which when coupled with a $9,800 grant from BC Tourism and the money from the District provides $30,000 to add more billboard signs and upgrade the cannery website.
“We’ve gotten good mileage out of the highway sign installed out by Burns Lake and the sign in town by the ferry terminal...We would like to get two to three new ones put up. One would be in Port Hardy as people get on the ferry to make them aware of the cannery, one outside Smithers and maybe one just outside Terrace to peak people’s interest as they get closer,” said Chief Administrative Officer Ron Bedard, noting that the signs currently up cost around $20,000.
“I’m not sure we’ll get all three signs to be honest. It depends on how big we want to make them and what the components are, but we definitely can get two.”
Council unanimously passed the spending, with acting mayor Dan Franzen noting what a good idea it was to have signs installed around Port Hardy before people make their way up the Inside Passage.
The District’s portion of the money is coming from a $35,000 economic development grant from the Northern Development
Trust.