Castlegar is a community in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. In the Selkirk Mountains, at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers, it is a regional trade and transportation centre, with a local economy based on forestry, mining and tourism. Castlegar is home to Selkirk College, a regional airport, a pulp mill, and several sawmills. Its population of 8,338 includes many Doukhobors, who were largely responsible for much of the town's early development and growth.