Place, Race and Capital: A Political Ecology of Oil and Gas Expansion in Kitimat, British Columbia

Employing a political ecology approach, this thesis analyzes the historical legacy of industrial projects and current responses to oil and gas expansion in the unceded territory of the Haisla Nation, Kitimat British Columbia. Through an analysis of place, race and capital, this analysis illuminates a complex web of power and multiple layers of injustice and dispossession involved in processes of industrial development. As the terminus of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, as well as the site for a number of proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects, the future of this territory will be conditioned by the convergence of complex global political economic forces and multiple local interests on the ground. By paying attention to questions of race, this thesis seeks to bring political ecology literature focused on industrial projects into conversation with critical race theory.