Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is moving to lock in nearly century-long leases on city-owned Watson Island land with its own development corporation, a deal that would eliminate rent payments for decades in exchange for a dollar per lease.
A public notice issued June 10, 2026, outlines the proposal from Prince Rupert City Council to extend two existing leases with Prince Rupert Legacy Inc. from 30 years to about 99 years, pushing the expiry to January 4, 2116. The transaction would also add several parcels to one of the leases. All of this comes in return for $1.00 paid by Legacy to the city for each transaction, along with a full rent break for the remaining lease terms under a 2014 partnering agreement.
Prince Rupert Legacy Inc. is a wholly owned municipal development corporation created in 2014 after approval from the BC Inspector of Municipalities. Its board is made up of senior city staff: the chief administrative officer, deputy chief administrative officer, and chief financial officer. The corporation was formed to manage industrial properties like Watson Island and to give the city more flexibility with lease revenues, which can be distributed for community projects.
Watson Island has a long backstory. It was home to the Skeena Cellulose pulp mill from 1955 until 2001, when the mill went bankrupt. The city became the unwilling owner of most of the island in 2009 through tax default, dealing with costs of roughly $90,000 a month. A turning point came in 2017, when Prince Rupert secured a $250 million investment from Pembina Pipeline to build a liquefied propane export facility there. In October 2024, Legacy signed a lease option with Hy2gen Canada Inc. for 79 acres on the island for a possible green hydrogen export project.
Residents have until June 29, 2026, to submit questions about the proposed land disposal. Inquiries can go to Rosamaria Miller, the deputy chief administrative officer and corporate officer. Under BC’s Community Charter, municipalities must publish a notice before disposing of land and must say if the land is being handed over at less than market value.
