(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Economic collaboration

Humboldt exploring joint economic collaboration with George Gordon First Nation

Jul 30, 2025 | 3:06 PM

The City of Humboldt and George Gordon First Nation, south of Punnichy, are looking to build economic collaboration.

They are both participating in the Community Economic Development Initiative (CEDI), which is a national program delivered by the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench told northeastNOW they have been working on the project since before the municipal election in the fall of 2024.

“Our council is very interested in working together with George Gordon’s Council to do some things that are going to, I believe, increase our economic development in Humboldt as well as on the First Nation,” Muench said.

Humboldt and George Gordon have already held a one-day workshop at the Uniplex to brainstorm on ways to cooperate with each other. Muench said George Gordon is doing a tremendous amount of economic development at the First Nation, and Humboldt is looking at ways they can work together.

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Muench said George Gordon is a little more hands-on with their economic development style, whereas Humboldt traditionally attempts to involve the private sector to do things.

“The workshops we’ve been doing have been brainstorming to see if there are ways we can work together on certain projects.”

Muench said a collaboration like this is important as the city has been looking to build bridges with First Nations communities. George Gordon has been working with BHP on a number of projects over the past few years, according to Muench, and their expertise could be a benefit for Humboldt.

While no plans or deals are in the works yet, the talks are in the very preliminary stages, and the first session was mainly to get to know each other better. The second workshop will take place at George Gordon First Nation in the future, and Muench is hopeful that they will continue to strengthen their collaboration.

The two communities are about an hour and a half apart, but Muench said the collaboration is a way to get them to sit around the same table and try to come up with some common interests and common goals.

George Gordon Chief Shawn Longman said in a news release he’s pleased with the initiative.

“We recognized that working together to address our economic challenges will strengthen our relationship and the regional economy and move our communities forward.”

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com