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.
Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area in Canada. It was incorporated in 1912.
Crofton is a small west coast town within the District of North Cowichan of southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, east of BC Highway 1 about 74 kilometres (46 mi) north of Victoria.
Chemainus is a community within the municipality of North Cowichan in the Chemainus Valley on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
North Cowichan is a district municipality established in 1873 on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. The municipality is part of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. North Cowichan is noted for a landscape including forests, beaches, rivers, and lakes. The municipality encompasses the communities of Chemainus; Westholme; Crofton; Maple Bay; and "the South End". The latter is an informal name for a built-up area which is essentially a suburb of the City of Duncan, a separate municipality.
Cowichan Bay is a bay and community located on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island near Duncan, in British Columbia. The mouth of the Cowichan River is near Cowichan Bay. Mount Tzouhalem with its hiking trails and ecological reserve stands to the north. The bay is known for its fishing and scenic value. The area's main industries are fishing and tourism.
The Cowichan Valley Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia is on the southern part of Vancouver Island, bordered by the Nanaimo and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional Districts to the north and northwest, and by the Capital Regional District to the south and east. As of the 2021 Census, the Regional District had a population of 89,013. The regional district offices are in Duncan.
Shawnigan Lake is the name of a village on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. The name Shawnigan is an adaptation of the Hul'qumi'num name Showe'luqun, for the lake and the village. It is part of Electoral Area B in the Cowichan Valley Regional District. As of 2016, the permanent population of Shawnigan Lake is 8,558.
Chemainus River Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
Gordon Bay Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
Honeymoon Bay is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located on Cowichan Lake in the southeastern part of Vancouver Island — approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) northwest of Victoria — at 48°49′N124°10′W. In 2011, its population was listed at 580.
Westholme is a community located in the Chemainus River Valley alongside the Island Highway, between Chemainus and Duncan in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Chemainus Land District in the District Municipality of North Cowichan. Westholme is one of the original settlements on Vancouver Island. Once a thriving mining and farming community, it is now filled with hobby farms and upscale private estates on large acreages, many of which are owned to this day by the descendants of original settlers to this area.
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.
Island Savings, a division of First West Credit Union, is based in British Columbia, Canada. Since 1951, Island Savings has served communities on Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands.
In 1864 the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition explored areas of the Colony of Vancouver Island outside the capital of Victoria and settlements in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley that were then unknown. The expedition went as far north as the Comox Valley over four and one half months during the summer and fall of 1864. The result was the discovery of gold in one location leading to a minor gold rush, the discovery of coal in the Comox Valley, an historical record of contact with the existing native population, the naming of many geographic features and a series of sketches recording images of the time.
The Vancouver Island Trail is a near-completed 800 km-long hiking trail stretching the length of Vancouver Island, from its southern terminus on Anderson Hill in Oak Bay, to its northern terminus in Cape Scott Provincial Park. The trail connects to various communities including Victoria, Lake Cowichan, Port Alberni and Cumberland, and connects along existing trails the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, Cowichan Valley Trail, Alberni Inlet Trail, the Great Trail and the North Coast Trail.
The San Juan River is a river that flows from east to west through southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The river originates in the Seymour Range, flows westward through the San Juan Valley to Port San Juan at Port Renfrew.
Alistair Bruce MacGregor is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election to represent the electoral district of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford. He is a member of the New Democratic Party. During the 42nd Canadian Parliament, MacGregor sponsored three private member bills, though none reached second reading stage: Bill 252 to add Shawnigan Lake to the list of navigable waters regulated under the Navigation Protection Act, Bill C-279 to limit federal election campaigns to a maximum of 46 days, Bill C-430 to create an organic farming tax credit.
The Cowichan Leader was a Canadian newspaper published weekly in Duncan, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, for 110 years until it ceased publication in April 2015. The paper not only served Duncan, but also the neighbouring Cowichan Valley communities of Chemainus, Cobble Hill, Crofton, Ladysmith, Youbou, Honeymoon Bay, Lake Cowichan, and Shawnigan Lake. The paper's closure occurred under the ownership of Black Press.
