Deputy Premier of British Columbia Niki Sharma speak to media prior to the First Minister’s Meeting in Saskatoon on Monday, June 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

British Columbia's attorney general said business leaders in the province need to consider whether their decisions could be contributing to an immigration crackdown in the United States that she and others are watching "in horror."

Niki Sharma's remarks on Tuesday came after it emerged that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was planning to buy a building owned by the property arm of Vancouver-based conglomerate Jim Pattison Group to use as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement "holding and processing" facility.

Asked about the potential sale of the 43.5-acre site and 550,000-square-foot industrial warehouse in Virginia, Sharma said B.C. and Canadian business figures needed to consider what connections they might have to "what's happening in the states with ICE and certainly the death of citizens of America."

Two people have been shot dead by federal agents amid the crackdown in Minneapolis, triggering widespread protests.

"Just like the rest of the world, we watch in horror what's happening there," Sharma said at an unrelated press conference in Vancouver.

"I think that calls upon business leaders across this province, (and) the whole country, to think about their role in what is unfolding there and to make decisions that would not lead to some of the outcomes that we're seeing unfold in the states."

Homeland Security sent a letter to the Hanover County planning department in Hanover, Va., last Wednesday, sharing its intent to "purchase, occupy and rehabilitate" the warehouse property owned by Jim Pattison Developments.

It wants to build "holding and processing spaces," as well as offices and cafeterias. Other additions could include "tentage and a guard shack," the letter said.

Property records show Jim Pattison Developments bought the building for roughly C$10.4 million in 2022 and the site is expected to be valued at around C$69 million this year, following improvements.

The Jim Pattison Group and Jim Pattison Developments did not respond to requests for comment.

The Hanover County board of supervisors will discuss ICE's proposed purchase of the Pattison site on Wednesday.

A closed meeting with lawyers to discuss "county zoning and regulatory authority related to federal government uses" will be followed by a public meeting, which protesters have said they plan to attend.

Darrell Jones, the former president of the Pattison Food Group who announced a run for the leadership of the B.C. Conservatives on Tuesday, said he did not consider himself in a position to comment, and he had nothing to do with Jimmy Pattison's real estate operations when he worked for the billionaire.

Jones said last month that he would to apply lessons learned from Pattison to the political world.

U.S. procurement records show another Vancouver-based company, Hootsuite, is providing social media services to the Department of Homeland Security.

The contract between Homeland Security and New York-based Seneca Strategic Partners to provide "social media management platform Hootsuite and support services" is worth up to US$2.8 million, according to a U.S. government procurement website.

Hootsuite has not responded to requests for comment.

-- With files from Nono Shen in Surrey, British Columbia

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2026.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2026