Chief named Canadian Energy Person of the Year
Chief Jim Boucher has been named 2018 Canadian Energy Person of the Year for his work developing the Fort McKay First Nation’s successful oil and gas businesses.
Boucher chairs the Fort McKay Group of Companies, which earned an average gross annual revenue of $1.7 billion in the last five years, according to a news release Tuesday from the Energy Council of Canada.
Under Boucher, first elected in 1986, the oilfield construction and services operation has grown to include earthworks, logistics, lodging and catering, taking advantage of the First Nation’s location near the oilsands 50 km north of Fort McMurray.
Fort McKay, which has more than 800 members, has also invested in such joint ventures as taking one-third ownership worth an estimated $350 million in Suncor’s East Tank Farm, a bitumen storage, blending and cooling facility.
“Fort McKay First Nation currently experiences no unemployment and enjoys a per capita average annual income of $73,500, which is higher than both the Alberta and Canada average,” the news release says.
Fort McKay was recognized by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business in Calgary on May 10 as the Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation of the Year.