Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is 456 km (283 mi) in length, 100 km (62 mi) in width at its widest point, and 32,100 km2 (12,400 sq mi) in total area, while 31,285 km2 (12,079 sq mi) are of land. The island is the largest by area and the most populous along the west coasts of the Americas.
Nanaimo is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating from the shoreline like the spokes of a wagon wheel, and to its relatively central location on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is the headquarters of the Regional District of Nanaimo.
The Island Corridor, previously the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway, is a railway operation on Vancouver Island. It is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation, a registered charity. The railway line is 225 kilometres (140 mi) in length from Victoria to Courtenay, known as the Victoria Subdivision, with a branch line from Parksville to Port Alberni, known as the Port Alberni Subdivision, of 64 kilometres (40 mi), for a total 289 kilometres (180 mi) of mainline track. In 2006, the Island Corridor Foundation acquired the railway's ownership from RailAmerica and Canadian Pacific Railway.
Courtenay is a city of about 26,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest community and only city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District, which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District. Courtenay is 4 km (2.5 mi) west of the town of Comox, 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the village of Cumberland, 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of the unincorporated settlement of Royston, and 108 km (67 mi) northwest of Nanaimo. Along with Nanaimo and Victoria, it is home to The Canadian Scottish Regiment, a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.
The Whitby Dunlops were a Canadian senior ice hockey team in the Allan Cup Hockey league. The team began play in 2004, and is on a leave of absence as of the 2020–21 season.
The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champion of the Canadian Junior Hockey League wins the Centennial Cup.
Shaw Spotlight was the name of locally based community channel services operated by cable TV provider Shaw Communications. The channels are available only to Shaw Cable subscribers and are produced in communities throughout western Canada.
CJAV-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 93.3 FM in Port Alberni, British Columbia. The station currently broadcasts an adult contemporary format branded on-air as 93.3 The Peak and is owned by Jim Pattison Group.
The Coquitlam Express are a Junior ice hockey team based in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Coastal Conference of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at the Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex.
Island Health, also known as the Vancouver Island Health Authority, is the publicly funded health care provider in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was established as one of five geographically based health authorities in 2001 by the Government of British Columbia.
Scott Kenneth Fraser is a Canadian politician who represented the Mid Island-Pacific Rim electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2005 to 2020. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party, he was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the 2005 election, defeating one-term Liberal Party incumbent Gillian Trumper, and re-elected in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 elections. During the 41st Parliament (2017-2020) he served in the Executive Council as the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. In that role he led the government through adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, with all party support, to implement the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
The BC Games Society is a provincial crown corporation in British Columbia created in 1977. The organization is the governing body responsible for the BC Summer Games and BC Winter Games, and manages the Team BC program at the Canada Games. Ron Butlin served as the first manager-director of the society from 1977 to 1987.
The 2005 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament held in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada between December 29, 2004 and January 4, 2005. The venues used for the tournament were the ENMAX Centre and the Nicholas Sheran Arena. Canada West defeated Canada Pacific 3-1 in the final to claim the gold medal, while Canada Atlantic defeated Canada Ontario to capture the bronze medal.
The Vancouver Island Regional Library(VIRL) is the fourth-largest library system in British Columbia. It serves more than 430,000 people on Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii and the Central Coast through 39 branch libraries and a books-by-mail service. Administrative offices are located in Nanaimo. Vancouver Island Regional Library opened its doors in 1936 as the Vancouver Island Union Library; it was the second regional library in North America.
The 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament held in London, Lucan, St. Thomas, Stratford, Strathroy, and Woodstock, Ontario, Canada between December 29, 2007 and January 4, 2008. The venues used for the tournament included the John Labatt Centre and Western Fair Sports Centre in London, the Lucan Community Memorial Centre in Lucan, the Gemini Sportsplex in Strathroy, the Timken Community Complex in St. Thomas, the Rotary Complex in Stratford, and the Southwood Community Complex in Woodstock. Team Canada Ontario defeated the United States 3–0 to win the gold medal, while team Canada West defeated team Canada Pacific 9–6 to win the bronze medal.
The 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge was an international ice hockey tournament held in Timmins, Iroquois Falls, Cochrane / Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, New Liskeard, Ontario, Canada between December 28, 2009 and January 4, 2010. The venues used for the tournament included the McIntyre Arena in Timmins, Jus Jordan Arena in Iroquois Falls, Tim Horton Arena in Cochrane, the Kapuskasing Sports Palace in Kapuskasing, Joe Mavrinac Community Complex in Kirkland Lake, and the New Liskeard Arena in New Liskeard. The United States won its third title, defeating Canada Ontario 2-1 in the gold-medal game.
The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge was an ice hockey tournament held in Windsor, Tecumseh and La Salle, Ontario, Canada, between December 29, 2011, and January 4, 2012. The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held by Hockey Canada annually to showcase young hockey talent from across Canada and other strong hockey countries. The primary venues used for the tournament were the WCFU Centre in Windsor, Tecumseh Arena in Tecumseh and the Vollmer Culture and Rec Centre in La Salle.
Gord Johns is a Canadian businessman and politician. Since 2015, he has served as the New Democrat Member of Parliament for the federal electoral riding of Courtenay—Alberni in the House of Commons of Canada. He previously served as a town councillor for Tofino, British Columbia, and founded a number of small businesses.
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