Latest news with #GreatBearRainforest
Gizmodo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Elon Musk Randomly Drops In on Small Town; Reminds Everyone He is Still Canadian
British Columbia and a tiny fishing village is now atwitter after the world's wealthiest man made a random and unannounced appearance over the weekend. Elon Musk, the controversial and now apparently political CEO of Tesla and X, touched down in Bella Bella—an isolated town nestled in the Great Bear Rainforest—before departing again by helicopter. His visit to the town with approximately 1,500 residents was a surprise. Local resident Seán Carter told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the area is no stranger to high-profile visitors. He added that Musk was possibly passing through en route to James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who is a board member at Tesla, where Musk serves as CEO, and who owns a property off the coast. 'It's not every day the richest man in the world comes through town,' he said. 'That's going to be a tough one to top.' CBC News confirmed that Musk's private jet touched down in Vancouver late Friday night and departed Monday afternoon. Visual evidence viewed by the CBC reportedly aligns with flight data tracked online and show Musk arriving and departing. If you follow the lore of Musk, he was born in South Africa and is a Canadian citizen through his mother, Maye Musk, who was born in Regina, according to official biographies. Musk moved to Saskatchewan and then Vancouver as a teen, and attended college in Canada. In recent months, Musk's visits and Canadian ties have fueled debate. Earlier this year, a petition circulated calling for the government to revoke his citizenship over his role in former President Trump's White House, exactly as Musk was getting heavy handed in tariff talks between the two countries. In Ontario and Western Canada, Musk's tempestuous influence has also complicated political relationships. Quebec, B.C., and other provinces have debated decisions to exclude Tesla from EV rebate programs in response to U.S. tariffs, with Premier David Eby citing 'retaliation' as the reason. In a move that showed at least one of Musk's businesses still matters to Canadian communities, more than half of Canadian rural areas are buying services from Musk's Starlink satellite internet to improve connectivity. Musk has gone back and forth on his own complicated feelings about Canada. In 2023, he posted a photo wearing a 'I Love Canada' T-shirt and declared himself 'half-Canadian.' But in February 2025, in response to the citizenship revocation petition, he tweeted, 'Canada is not a real country' before deleting the message. Carter told the CBC politics aside, Musk's passage through Bella Bella was one for the history books. 'No matter what your opinion of him is, it's something to follow,' he said. The town's residents clearly had mixed feelings about Musk's drop-in. Emily Lowan, a candidate for the B.C. Green Party leadership, posted images of Musk's arrival on social media, writing, 'yet another reason to tax billionaires out of existence.' But in typical Canadian fashion, Carter said that Musk did not get any special treatment at the local airport and then had to walk for a bit. 'It was quite busy,' Carter said. 'The plane landed on one side, the helicopter on the other, and he had to walk a long way. He probably hoped to come in and out quietly, but there are no secrets in this town.'
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk makes surprise touchdown in small B.C. town
A small B.C town is buzzing after the world's richest man made an unexpected touchdown this past weekend. Elon Musk, the CEO of X and Tesla and a former White House adviser, landed in Bella Bella on B.C.'s Central Coast on Saturday in a small private aircraft before being flown out by helicopter. He returned to the airstrip on Monday and flew out. Local Seán Carter says the fishing community of about 1,500 people in the Great Bear Rainforest, 470 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, is used to seeing the rich and famous — including members of the Royal Family — pass through to take advantage of the recreational opportunities in the area, but Musk is at another level. "It's not every day the richest man comes through," he said. "That's gonna be a tough one to top." Carter says the common belief is Musk was passing through on his way to a property off the coast owned by James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The Globe and Mail reported in 2017 that the younger Murdoch had purchased a property for recreational use off the B.C. coast due to his love of the area. He is also a board member of Tesla, where Musk serves as CEO. CBC News has reached out to Tesla for comment. Musk a Canadian citizen An online service which tracks a private jet belonging to Musk shows the craft landed in Vancouver late Friday night and left Monday afternoon. Those times align with photos provided to CBC News, which show Musk arriving in Bella Coola on Saturday and leaving on Monday. Musk, who was born in South Africa, is a Canadian citizen through his mother, Maye Musk, who was born in Regina. As a teenager, he moved to Canada, where he says he lived and worked in Saskatchewan and Vancouver before studying at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. Earlier this year, he was the subject of a petition calling on the Canadian government to revoke his citizenship due to his role in Trump's White House, as the U.S. president was ramping up rhetoric about using a trade war to make Canada a state. In B.C., Premier David Eby excluded Tesla products from its electric vehicle charger rebate program in response to U.S. tariffs, stating, "It's just for Tesla and it's because of Elon Musk." Multiple Canadian municipalities and government agencies have also been re-evaluating their relationship with X, citing Musk's politics. Meanwhile, many rural communities have signed on to use Musk's satellite internet Starlink service to help provide connectivity in remote areas. Musk has shared differing views on Canada over the years. In 2023, he posted a picture of himself wearing an I Love Canada T-shirt and later that year posted a message stating, "I'm proudly half-Canadian." But in February 2025, in response to the petition to revoke his citizenship, he posted "Canada is not a real country," which he later deleted. Emily Lowan, who is running for the leadership of the B.C. Green Party, shared photos of Musk's arrival in Bella Bella to her social media accounts, writing, "yet another reason to tax billionaires out of existence." In a statement to CBC News, she said the ability of billionaires to build private havens in B.C. while using private jets that fuel the climate crisis is a "stark warning" to governments of the need for action. Carter said there was plenty of debate about Musk over the weekend, but politics aside, having him pass through has been the "talk of the town" in Bella Bella. "No matter what your opinions are of the guy, it was something to follow," he said. And, he said, even though he arrived and left in a private jet, Musk wasn't able to get special treatment at the small-town airport. "It was quite busy, so the plane had to land on one side and the helicopter on the other, so he had to get out and walk a long way," he said. "I'm sure he was hoping to kind of come in and out kind of secretly, but there's definitely no secrets here." Solve the daily Crossword
CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Elon Musk makes surprise touchdown in small B.C. town
Social Sharing A small B.C town is buzzing after the world's richest man made an unexpected touchdown this past weekend. Elon Musk, the CEO of X and Tesla and a former White House adviser, landed in Bella Bella on B.C.'s Central Coast on Saturday in a small private aircraft before being flown out by helicopter. He returned to the airstrip on Monday and flew out. Local Seán Carter says the fishing community of about 1,500 people in the Great Bear Rainforest, 470 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, is used to seeing the rich and famous — including members of the Royal Family — pass through to take advantage of the recreational opportunities in the area, but Musk is at another level. "It's not every day the richest man comes through," he said. "That's gonna be a tough one to top." Carter says the common belief is Musk was passing through on his way to a property off the coast owned by James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The Globe and Mail reported in 2017 that the younger Murdoch had purchased a property for recreational use off the B.C. coast due to his love of the area. He is also a board member of Tesla, where Musk serves as CEO. CBC News has reached out to Tesla for comment. An online service which tracks a private jet belonging to Musk shows the craft landed in Vancouver late Friday night and left Monday afternoon. Those times align with photos provided to CBC News, which show Musk arriving in Bella Coola on Saturday and leaving on Monday. Musk, who was born in South Africa, is a Canadian citizen through his mother, Maye Musk, who was born in Regina. As a teenager, he moved to Canada, where he says he lived and worked in Saskatchewan and Vancouver before studying at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. Earlier this year, he was the subject of a petition calling on the Canadian government to revoke his citizenship due to his role in Trump's White House, as the U.S. president was ramping up rhetoric about using a trade war to make Canada a state. In B.C., Premier David Eby excluded Tesla products from its electric vehicle charger rebate program in response to U.S. tariffs, stating, "It's just for Tesla and it's because of Elon Musk." Multiple Canadian municipalities and government agencies have also been re-evaluating their relationship with X, citing Musk's politics. Meanwhile, many rural communities have signed on to use Musk's satellite internet Starlink service to help provide connectivity in remote areas. Musk has shared differing views on Canada over the years. In 2023, he posted a picture of himself wearing an I Love Canada T-shirt and later that year posted a message stating, "I'm proudly half-Canadian." But in February 2025, in response to the petition to revoke his citizenship, he posted "Canada is not a real country," which he later deleted. Emily Lowan, who is running for the leadership of the B.C. Green Party, shared photos of Musk's arrival in Bella Bella to her social media accounts, writing, "yet another reason to tax billionaires out of existence." In a statement to CBC News, she said the ability of billionaires to build private havens in B.C. while using private jets that fuel the climate crisis is a "stark warning" to governments of the need for action. Carter said there was plenty of debate about Musk over the weekend, but politics aside, having him pass through has been the "talk of the town" in Bella Bella. "No matter what your opinions are of the guy, it was something to follow," he said. And, he said, even though he arrived and left in a private jet, Musk wasn't able to get special treatment at the small-town airport. "It was quite busy, so the plane had to land on one side and the helicopter on the other, so he had to get out and walk a long way," he said.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Try the Skeena, a budget alternative to Canada's famous Rocky Mountaineer
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). 'Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be making an unscheduled stop here to pick up another passenger,' announces train manager Alain Vermette. 'In fact, we need to back up. We just missed his stop.' Brakes squeal and gears grind as Via Rail Line 6 — better known as 'the Skeena' — slows, shifts into reverse and trundles back down the track. A minute later, a burly man in a baseball cap, hunting boots and jeans emerges from the forest, rucksack slung over his shoulder, a cheroot poking out from his grizzled grey beard. 'Afternoon, Alain,' he says, waving a greeting up to the conductor, who's leaning out of the train window. 'Running a little late today, ain'tcha?' The train pulls to a stop — but since there's no platform, Alain has to hop down onto the track and put down a set of portable steps. I follow him down, and together we help the man haul himself up through the train's side door. Soon the engine chugs into life and we're off again, hurtling onwards into an endless sea of pines. On the Skeena, request stops have always been part of the service. Completed in 1914 as the western end of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, the train travels through some of British Columbia's wildest backcountry, including the 24,700sq mile Great Bear Rainforest, the largest temperate forest on Earth. It's one of Canada's great wildernesses, a haven for wildlife including moose, elk, eagles and, as its name suggests, black and grizzly bears. The route begins on the Pacific coast in Prince Rupert, BC, and ends 720 miles further east high in the Rocky Mountains in Jasper, Alberta. Since it's often the only way to get from one backwoods town to the next, locals use it like a bus service, flagging the train down as it passes three times a week. It's been classed as an essential service since 1990, but if it was judged on purely economic terms, it would probably have been closed long ago. 'The Skeena is a lifeline for so many people,' Alain explains as we chat inside the train's compact cafe car, watching stereotypically Canadian vistas blur beyond the window: sprawling forests, turquoise lakes, snow-topped peaks. Originally from Quebec, with a Francophone lilt to his accent, he's dressed in his Via Rail uniform: short-sleeved shirt, navy waistcoat and trousers, a shiny pin badge of the Canadian flag tacked to his lapel. 'We call the people who live way out in the bush 'flaggers', and we keep an eye out as we pass their stop,' Alain continues. 'Usually they signal with a flagpole or a high-vis jacket hanging beside the track. But we stop for hikers, too; forest workers, hunters, people like that. Recently we picked up a family who'd got lost. It was lucky we found them, actually.' I'm riding the Skeena eastbound on a two-day, 21-hour journey from the Pacific to the Rockies, with an overnight stop in Prince George en route. The timetable is more guide than gospel — on Canada's railways, freight takes priority, so passenger trains must wait for them to pass. Delays are inevitable. 'There's a joke that 'Via Rail' actually stands for 'Very Irregular Arrival',' quips train attendant Dany Clarissa, on secondment from her regular gig on Via Rail's flagship route, The Canadian — 2,775-miles, linking Toronto and Vancouver. Sure enough, a minute later we pull into a siding to allow a gigantic goods train to rumble past, its steel boxcars daubed with graffiti. 'This one's only a small one, but they can be three miles long,' Dany says. Thankfully, the Skeena is one train where you're almost glad about the hold ups. The train has a retro elegance reminiscent of the 1950s. The carriages are made from functional brushed steel, with curved lines and stamped rivets that remind me of an Airstream trailer. Each passenger gets their own deep-padded seat in brown leather, with windows running along each side. At the train's rear is the cafe and lounge car, where a metal staircase climbs up to a viewing deck with bubble windows offering widescreen views of the Canadian wilderness as it zips by. And when it comes to scenery, there are surely few trains on the planet that can compare to the Skeena. One minute we're thrashing along the banks of a wild river, thundering with whitewater; the next we're rattling over a box bridge, teetering along the rim of a high-walled canyon or skirting the slopes of a glacier-studded mountain. Images from Canada's past flicker by like a film reel: rickety sawmills, abandoned salmon canneries, gold mines, ghost towns. Occasionally, we pass Indigenous communities, where First Nations peoples, including the Gitxsan, Kitselas and Tsimshian, have lived for thousands of years. Wildlife guest stars, too: I watch bald eagles circling over the treetops, elk grazing along the sidings, and a distant black bear ambling through a meadow, its fur freckled with dandelion blossom. As dusk falls, we trundle into the outskirts of Prince George — a former logging and fur-trading outpost that's now sometimes called BC's 'northern capital' — in search of our overnight accommodation. The next morning, the train departs at 8.15am sharp. Alain serves coffee and pastries as we run westwards along the Fraser River, watching the sunrise turn the water copper. Logging was once the prime industry in this part of BC, but most of the mills have long since been abandoned, leaving the forest to slowly regenerate. We trundle through little towns like Penny, Crescent Spur, McBride and Dunster — mostly just a few clapboard houses and a single-pump petrol station — slowly threading our way between two mountain ranges: the Cariboos, to the south; the Rockies to the north. Flurries of snow speckle the peaks like icing sugar. In a few months, the drifts will stand 10ft high or more, but the Skeena will run on regardless; the train's cowcatcher frame acts as a snow plough, Alain explains. For now, though, it's the perfect autumn day for sitting on a train. Blue skies shine overhead. The forest blazes with colour: golds, scarlets, chestnuts, tangerines. The hulking outline of Mount Robson, Canada's highest mountain, rises like a pyramid as we cross over the Alberta border and change time zones, from Pacific to Mountain time. We climb on, over the Continental Divide, and finally into the cradle of mountains around our terminus, Jasper, still scarred by the wildfire that swept through town in August 2024. As I step off the train onto the platform, breathing in pine-scented mountain air, I check the station clock. We're only 53 minutes late. By Skeena standards, that's pretty much right on time. Published in the May 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
