Port Edward

History

Originally incorporated as Village Municipality on , the townsite was re-incorporated as a District Municipality , and is now called the District of Port Edward. In 1942, the United States Army established the Port Edward staging base, containing two wharves and a loading pier with necessary rail connections, and facilities accommodating 10,000 troops. As a member of the Quartermaster Corps, Colonel Floyd W. Stewart oversaw the embarkation of 35,000 troops and civilian workers through to the Aleutian and Pacific theatres of war. Watson Island also contained a major ammunition transshipment facility, it is estimated that over 100,000 tons of high-explosive ammunition were passed through to Alaska . By the early 1960s Port Edward had become the largest northern salmon canning area. Commercial milestones include the installations of crab canning equipment in 1953, shellfish operations in 1959 and shrimp operations in 1961. Pacific Northwest LNG (PNW LNG) had been proposed for Lelu Island, adjacent to the townsite of Port Edward. The project was a major joint-venture between Malaysia's state oil and gas company, Petronas, and significant partners including Sinopec and JAPEX. This $11 billion (CAD) project, if constructed, would have brought significant economic activity to Port Edward. The project was cancelled on July 25, 2017. , Pembina Pipeline commenced exporting from its liquefied natural gas terminal on Watson Island. This facility provided some of Canada's first large-scale propane shipments to South Korea.