The recent extreme weather events that severed transportation routes in southern British Columbia have highlighted the importance of northern B.C.鈥檚 transportation corridor, connecting western Canada to the Pacific through the Port of Prince Rupert.

Meeting the needs of the different supply chains that rely on the Port鈥檚 gateway requires a dedicated workforce specializing in trucking and logistics. Nearly half of the 3,700 people directly employed in the Prince Rupert Gateway currently work in trucking and rail, accounting for 1,680 full-time jobs.

Over the past decade, the volume of cargo moving through the Port of Prince Rupert and the number of people employed in Port-related businesses have doubled. Several northern B.C.-based trucking and logistics companies contribute to the Prince Rupert Gateway by moving cargo across the northern B.C. corridor, be it through import and export cargo handling, or the movement of materials between production sites to transload sites, including Gat Leedm Logistics, Bandstra Transportation, Kristoff Trucking, Bear Creek Group, Lake Transportation Systems, Overland West, and others.

Truck driver Ashley Hughes has been working with Gat Leedm Logistics for the past two years. Female drivers, like Hughes, represent approximately three per cent of all truck drivers in the province according to the BC Trucking Association, but the sector is becoming more diverse.

Hughes is based out of Prince Rupert and spends her shifts hauling containers to-and-from various locations around the Port complex.

鈥淚 like that each day is different,鈥� said Hughes. 鈥淣o two days will be exactly the same and with each trip I take, I鈥檓 building my experience and becoming a better driver.鈥�

Find out how Hughes and the thousands of others supporting the Prince Rupert Gateway are making a difference in communities across northern B.C. at