Port Clements is an incorporated village situated at the east end of

Masset Inlet Masset Inlet is a large saltwater bay located in the heart of the lowland of northern Graham Island, the northernmost and largest island of the Haida Gwaii islands on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is fed by several rivers, the la ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...

(formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of the Province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in Canada. Known as Gamadiis in HlG̱aagilda X̱aayda kil, it is one of seven village sites that flourished in the rich waters at the mouth of

Yakoun River The Yakoun River is the largest river on Haida Gwaii, off the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Estimated to be in length, it is located on Graham Island, the northernmost and largest of the archipelago, and runs in a twisting course genera ...

, where an estuary shelters nine Pacific salmonid species and many kinds of birds. Founded by Eli Tingley in 1907, it was once known under the name Queenstown, but renamed to Port Clements in 1914 after Herb S. Clements, the local MP at the time (for

Comox—Atlin Comox—Atlin was a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1917. This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Burrard and Vancouver ridings. ...

, then 1917-1921 for

Comox—Alberni Comox—Alberni was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and again from 1988 to 1993. History This riding was created in 1914 from parts of Comox— ...

), when the name "Queenstown" duplicated and therefore became unusable for the post office. The highway leading to Port Clements from

Tlell Tlell is a small, unincorporated area on the east coast of Graham Island, which is part of Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada. History Besides Mexican Tom, who set up camp at Tlell in 1904, Eric Richa ...

and from Port Clements to

Masset Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...

was paved in 1969 and soon after completion the village became incorporated in 1975. The road to Tlell is called the straight stretch, as it is straight. The other main road that heads west to Juskatla Camp and back south to Queen Charlotte City is still gravel and mainly a logging road only open to public traffic after working hours. Port Clements was and still is to a lesser extent the centre of the remaining logging on northern

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pri ...

. In this community 29.2% of the labour force works in the forest industry. Most of the processing takes place in Juskatla Camp. Past tourist attractions were

Kiidk'yaas ''Kiidk'yaas'' (meaning "ancient tree" in the Haida language), also known as the Golden Spruce, was a Sitka spruce tree (''Picea sitchensis'' 'Aurea') that grew on the banks of the Yakoun River on the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia ...

(The Golden Spruce) which was illegally felled by

Grant Hadwin Thomas Grant Hadwin (born October 25, 1949) was a Canadian forest engineer. In January 1997, he felled Kiidk'yaas (also known as "the Golden Spruce"), a Sitka Spruce tree located on the Haida Gwaii archipelago and considered sacred by the Hai ...

in 1997, and the White Raven, which has died. Today, Port Clements and the nearby mouth of the

attract visitors intending to fish for steelheads, chinook and other salmon or to go kayaking.BritishColumbia.com - Regions & Towns - Port Clements
/ref> There are a few camp and picnic sites as well as hiking trails in and around Port Clements, which also has one gas station, one grocery store, a public library, a

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

office, a bar, a museum, a hostel, a grade school, a church and a wharf. Businesses include mechanics, small farmers and forestry contractors.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Port Clements had a population of 340 living in 181 of its 205 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 282. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places in Haida Gwaii Villages in British Columbia Graham Island