Northern Development is an independent regional economic development corporation focused on stimulating economic diversification and job creation in central and northern British Columbia, a region that is strategically located, and offers a resource-rich economy with many competitive advantages and incentives for business.

As the leading economic development agency in the region, Northern Development will be the catalyst to inject $2 billion every decade into communities within the region to realize their economic potential. The corporation supports community economic development initiatives with funding for economic diversification infrastructure, , , capacity building, grant writing, community halls, recreational facilities, and community foundations.

Northern Development directly incents private business to create new jobs throughout the region via $30 million in dedicated funding to support capital investment and new job training in central and northern BC.

The corporation operates seven Trust Accounts with funding focused on ten primary investment areas: agriculture, economic development, energy, forestry, mining, olympic opportunities, pine beetle recovery, small business, tourism, and transportation.

Northern Development was established in 2005 as Northern Development Initiative Trust, an initiative of the Province of British Columbia that is independently governed by a board of thirteen regionally-based directors.