[5] because it serves as a centre for higher education, health care, government services, arts and entertainment, sports, and support for major industries such as forest products and mining.

[6] The post was centred in the centuries-old homeland of the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation, whose name means "people of the confluence of the two rivers.

The Band appointed Oblate Missionary E.C Bellot as an emissary to Ottawa with a larger cash demand of $1000 per acre, which was refused by DIA representatives.

Coccola had interests in the well-being of the Lheidli T'enneh but was also negotiating on behalf of the railway company which might connect to his mission on Stuart Lake.

Chief Louis favored the surrender of the land, but Joseph Quah, an influential leader in the Band, wanted a higher price.

[9] Indian Agent W. J. MacAllan's accounts of the situation reveal a need on his part and the part of the GTP to strong-arm the band members out, targeting two cabins in the village that were empty as the residents were away hunting "I knew that to set fire to the cabins would cause a flare up of intense excitement and give me the break I needed, for a crisis had to be created before the deadlock could be broken".

[20] Prince George persevered through the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s and did not experience any significant growth until World War II when an army camp was built at the foot of Cranbrook Hill, bringing new life to the struggling businesses and service industries.

Others include the first Overwaitea store, at Victoria and Third, formerly a barracks and the original civic centre, which was the old drill shed, was removed and rebuilt on Seventh Avenue.

[6] After the war, as the ravaged European cities rebuilt, the demand for lumber skyrocketed and Prince George, with its abundance of sawmills and spruce trees, prospered.

Alcohol consumption was believed to be a factor in the crash and the Coroner's inquest found that Pynn died "through his own neglect and complete disregard for the Aeronautical Regulations of Canada."

Costing C$400,000 to build and C$3,000 per day to run, the "Warm Water System" was completed on January 29, by which time the ice jam had grown to 25 km (16 mi) long.

[29][30][31][32][33][34][35] As a result of long-term lobbying from local groups (championed by local advocate Sheldon Clare, and members of 396 Air Cadet Squadron, 2618 Army Cadet Corps, 158 Sea Cadet Corps, 142 Navy League Corps, Branch 43 Royal Canadian Legion, and the Peacekeepers Association) in February 2011, Canadian Armed Forces 39 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters announced that a detachment of the Rocky Mountain Rangers Army Reserve unit was to be formed in Prince George.

Prince George proper contains several areas: South Fort George, the Hart, the residential and light industrial neighbourhoods north of the Nechako River; College Heights, the southern part of the city which contains a mix of residential and commercial areas, and the Bowl, the valley that includes most of the city and the downtown.

Local wild edible fruit include bunchberries, rose hips, blueberries, cranberries, chokecherries, strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons, currants,[clarification needed] gooseberries, and soapberries (from which "Indian ice cream" is made).

[citation needed] On the other hand, Arctic air masses can settle over the city for weeks at a time; in rare cases, such as January 1950, the temperature stays well below freezing over a whole calendar month.

With the University of Northern British Columbia, the College of New Caledonia and School District #57, education adds more than $780 million into the local economy annually.

Forestry dominated the local economy throughout the 20th century, including plywood manufacture, numerous sawmills and three pulp&pellet mills as major employers and customers.

[74] Sawmill closures (and the creation of 'supermills') occurred around 2005,[75] and the largest pellet mill closed in 2022 due to dwindling supply and lack of a sea port.

[77] Other industry includes two chemical plants, an oil refinery, brewery, dairy, machine shops, aluminum boat building, log home construction, value added forestry product and specialty equipment manufacturing.

Post-secondary education choices include the regional College of New Caledonia (CNC),[81] which offers two-year university-transfer courses, plus vocational and professional programs.

Several BC universities, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and the Open Learning Agency have integrated their local programs with CNC.

Recently, the Duchess Park Secondary School Senior boys basketball team won the provincial AA title for the first time in 26 years.

Winter Games hosted by Prince George and organized by John Furlong were highly attended by 5,600 participants from age 8 to 90 in 38 events.

Prince George has been home to several National Hockey League players, including Murray Baron, Blair Betts, Tyler Bouck, Chris Mason, Ronald Petrovický, Justin Pogge, Dan Hamhuis, Sheldon Souray, Derek Boogaard, Dustin Byfuglien, Devin Setoguchi, Turner Stevenson and Darcy Rota.

[clarification needed][citation needed] Recreation facilities include 116 playgrounds and parks, baseball, soccer and lacrosse fields, eight golf courses, plus tennis courts, ice rinks and roller rinks, a new modern Aquatic Centre as well as an older swimming pool and the CN Centre, which is a 5,995-seat multi-purpose arena.

Moviegoers can choose between the Famous Players, now Cineplex Entertainment, six-plex[92] or the Park Drive-in Theatre, which also offers mini-golf facilities and a go-kart track.

[114] Initially, while the Rex primarily screened movies, the Princess was largely vacant when not a venue for opera,[115] charity concerts,[116][117] and political[118][108] and sundry[119][120][121][122][108] meetings.

[100] Further enterprises were movie screenings at select interior towns,[138] refurbishing and managing the Royal Hotel,[139] and operating club establishments.

[154] Selling his two local theatres to Herb G. Stevenson in 1944, Graham devoted his attention to his Six Mile (Tabor) Lake Lodge enterprise.

School District 57, which includes not only the city of Prince George but a large, sparsely populated area to the east and north, is governed by seven elected trustees.