Preliminary site preparation work on the LNG Canada site in Kitimat has been underway since the fall of 2018. | LNG Canada

(This story has been updated with corrections. The earlier version stated the total amount of contracts and benefits to First Nations to be $2 billion.)

Canadian businesses and contractor have been awarded $937 million worth of contracts associated with the LNG Canada projects to date, according to LNG Canada.

That includes $175 million for First Nations businesses and contractors. That's in addition to roughly $100 million for First Nations that had been previously spent getting the project to the final investment decision stage.

According to a press release this morning, January 21, LNG Canada confirmed it has signed $937 million worth of contracts and subcontracts with various Canadian business and contractors, of which $175 million was awarded to various indigenous businesses and contractors. An LNG Canada spokesperson said more contracts will be awarded as the project progresses.

First Nations have also benefited from about $620 million in contracts awarded on the associated Coastal GasLink pipeline project.

“What these contracts and subcontracts represent is tremendous opportunity for individuals to find employment on the LNG Canada project through our contractors and subcontractors,” Susannah Pierce, LNG Canada’s director of external relations, said in a press release.

“For First Nations communities, it is delivering on the opportunities we have committed to that will assist the Nations address issues of poverty, unemployment and skills development. For local communities, it is the opportunity for young people to find employment that allows them to remain living in the North.”

Site preparation work began in the fall of 2018. In October, 249 local workers from the Kitimat area, including First Nations, were employed on the project by LNG Canada and its contractors.

The number of jobs to be created this year is estimated to be in the high hundreds, ramping up to about 4,500 at peak construction in 2020 and 2021. That’s just for the LNG Canada project. Another 2,000 to 2,500 are expected to be employed on the Coastal GasLink project.

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