B.C. town finding new life, 50 years after its mine closed

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:01][music] >> A former seaside sky mining town is being recognized for its transformation.

[00:00:10]Britannia Village is tucked along the picturesque Howe Sound. The small community is riding a big wave of momentum. It's a very vibrant community to live beside. It's a pretty exciting place and Britannia Beach is a piece of paradise.

[00:00:24]The village officially opened last August and is part of a decades-long redevelopment project led by McDonald Communities. Nine original mine town buildings were saved and repurposed, including the church, theater, and community hall. These buildings now house a general store, pub, bakery, restaurant, and more. It's a whole community that's all built out of this these historic buildings. The Britannia Mine, which operated from 1904 to 1974, was once the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth. Over seven decades, more than 60,000 people from more than 50 countries lived and worked in the community. Back then, they held a copper queen celebration every spring.

[00:01:04]100 years after the inaugural festival, the village is hosting the first Britannia Day. I used to party in that community hall over there, you know.

[00:01:13]I have childhood memories from my teens in this town. It's changed a lot. It's very nice to see it gentrified like this. After the mine closed, the jobs dried up and the village became more of a pit stop for those on their way to Squamish, Whistler, and beyond. Now, that looks to be changing.

[00:01:32]As Britannia Village has received the 2026 Heritage BC Award for outstanding conservation. Like any worthwhile restoration project, it began with a major cleanup.

[00:01:42]>> Part of this whole project was to clean up all the copper and other metals that were leaching out into Howe Sound and killing all the the fish. For 70 years, acidic mine drainage leaked into Howe Sound every day. Contamination was so severe that the site was once dubbed the worst source of heavy metal pollution in BC. The province was able to get money from the mining company to to to clean up the area. Seepage from the from the mine is pumped up the hill and the water's cleaned out and the sludge is moved moved away. In recent years, marine life has been frequenting local waters and salmon have also returned to Britannia Creek, which runs right through the village. I think it's amazing what has been achieved. Newer residents feel like they're on the ground floor of something special. I feel part of this town because I'm growing with the community. I'm growing with all the new business they are around. The village consists of 14 houses below market rental, 197 single family homes, and 73 townhomes. It's a smaller community. Everybody knows each other.

[00:02:50]So, it has this feeling of of belonging to to a a group of people that are looking after each other. While the mine has been closed for decades, Britannia Village has become its own rare gem.

[00:03:05]Troy Charles, CBC News, Vancouver.