Crystal Smith, former elected chief councillor of the Haisla Nation in BC, and chair of our Alliance, joined CEO Stewart Muir of Resource Works for an interview in his Power Struggle series. She talks about what led her nation to support LNG Canada — and to plan its own LNG-for-export project, Cedar LNG.
Underlying the Haisla approval of LNG development, Smith says, was a collective desire to have economic opportunity, and “a share and a say” in any development.
“It was to have a share and a say in in terms of what our beautiful territory has to offer in in terms of economic development. We’re very fortunate geographically to be located at the end of the Douglas Channel, which is a deep seaport that does not freeze, so there’s a lot of opportunity. . . .
“Our community wasn’t new to industrial development. We’ve had an aluminum smelter, which still operates today. We’ve had a pulp-and-paper mill and a methanol facility.”
But . . . “We didn’t have any participation when those industries came to our territory.”
And plant closures in the past meant job losses, schools and stores closing, and some Haisla citizens leaving the area.
Smith cites as examples the Methanex ethanol plant (which shut down in 2005) and the Eurocan pulp and paper mill (which shut down in 2010).
Then the Haisla Nation was introduced to new opportunity — and several proposals for LNG development. There were three or four proposals on the table, one of them for an LNG import facility on one of the Nation’s reserves.
“Our Nation and a lot of our older generations were familiar with LNG. . . . We were introduced to all of these opportunities and . . . we were very intrigued to learn about new industry that was being proposed for our territory.”
The Nation’s leadership under elected chief councillor Ellis Ross (now a Conservative MP and Opposition critic for LNG and resource opportunities) set up information sessions with Haisla citizens in the Kitimat region, and Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Prince Rupert
“All of our people had the opportunity to have their say in what they supported for development in our territory. And they overwhelmingly supported the (LNG) industry.”
She adds: “We actually took a weekend where we tried to compare apples to apples with all of these projects and tried to develop a strategy as to how we were going to be able to juggle all of these. . . .
“And at the end of the weekend, LNG Canada came out as the primary focus.”
The idea of the Nation’s own Cedar LNG project had been there, but in the background.
“When LNG Canada and Coastal Gas Link announced their positive final investment decision, Cedar became again a possibility.”
And a possibility that would be in alignment with Haisla values. “We were going to be conscious of an environment thinking seven generations out.”
(LNG Canada shipped its first LNG cargo to Asia on June 30 this year, and Cedar LNG began construction in 2024, with a target date of late 2028.)
And now, Smith says: “There’s a . . . lot of spin-off opportunities to our communities. It is vastly different, from when I was growing up, to what we have today in in our community. People are positive, they’re hopeful.
“Our youth are thriving. There are programs and services that that we’ve never seen before in our community.”
And her Nation has begun to revitalize the Haisla culture, language, and community.
- Watch Crystal Smith’s video interview with Stewart Muir on Power Struggle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds7vOa8XqHE
- Audio and full transcript: https://ow.ly/8Qim50Xf7JY
- Crystal Smith on her Nation’s benefits from LNG: https://ow.ly/C4Yt50Xf7UW
- About LNG Canada: https://ow.ly/2qgQ50Xf7UV
- About Cedar LNG: https://ow.ly/KHgo50Xf7UX
- Power Struggle website: https://powerstruggle.ca/
- Crystal Smith on LinkedIn: https://ow.ly/csLJ50Xf7Pe
(Posted here 30 October 2025)
