North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site

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About North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site

The North Pacific cannery opened in 1889 at the mouth of the Skeena River in Port Edward, south of Prince Rupert. It operated for nearly a century, canning salmon for markets around the world. It is the oldest surviving cannery village on North America’s west coast and a national historic site.

The wooden buildings stand on pilings connected by boardwalks above the water. There’s the production line with the machinery, the net shed, the company store, the office and the houses where workers lived. Fishermen and workers of Indigenous, Japanese, Chinese and European origin worked there, and each group lived in a different part of the village.

Guides explain what work and life were like there, and exhibits display cans, boats and fishing gear.