Jerry Asp

Jerry is committed to enhancing the quality of life for Indigenous people through the creation of new business opportunities and development of skills and capacity in the community. Jerry was President and founding member of the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (1985), the largest native-owned and operated heavy construction company in Western Canada building it to a $60 million corporation with 8 divisions and 29 joint-venture partnerships in the mining industry. Today, the Tahltan Trust Fund holds $120 million for future generations from these opportunities. Jerry is credited with taking their Nation from 98% unemployment to 0% unemployment through equitable partnerships and business opportunities. Jerry’s success includes negotiating the first Impact Benefit Agreement in BC with the Golden Bear Mine, the first native–owned independent power producer contract with BC Hydro and a new health facility to serve the Dease Lake area. Jerry has also applied his leadership skills to serve the public. Jerry was instrumental in bringing the Aboriginal Toolkit for Mining to fruition which in 2007 won the International Award as the best Aboriginal mine training document in the world, from UNESCO. Jerry was a founding member of Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association (CAMA) (1991-Nov 2013) where he served as Vice President; was appointed to sit on the Yukon Mining Advisory Board in 2011; and in 2018 was appointed to the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Body on Responsible Business Conduct by the Minister of International Trade. Jerry has been awarded the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Skookum Jim award which recognizes Indigenous achievements in the mineral industry; received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal March 5, 2013, the Frank Woodside award from AME BC (2015) the Inspired award for Business and Commerce (2017), and in 2020 was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. As founder of the Global Indigenous Development Trust, Jerry actively shares his knowledge and experience with communities across the Americas, Africa, Scandinavia and Australia.