Vancouver Island, often simply "the Island" to residents of southwestern BC, is 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 32,134 km2 (12,407 sq mi) in area. It is the largest island on the west coasts of the Americas and is also the most populous.
Comox is a town of about 15,000 people on the southern coast of the Comox Peninsula in the Georgia Strait on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil and abundant sea life attracted First Nations thousands of years ago, who called the area kw'umuxws. When the area was opened for settlement in the mid-19th century, it quickly attracted farmers, a lumber industry and a fishing industry. For over fifty years, the village remained isolated from the outside world other than by ship until roads and a railway were built into the area during the First World War. The installation of an air force base near the village during the Second World War brought new prosperity to the area, and in recent years, Comox has become a popular tourist attraction due to its good fishing, local wildlife, year-round golf and proximity to the Mount Washington ski area, the Forbidden Plateau, and Strathcona Provincial Park. The town is also home to a Royal Canadian Air Force base CFB Comox, an airport for military and commercial airline use and the Sea Cadet training facility HMCS Quadra. The mild climate has attracted many retirees to the area in the 21st century, resulting in a high rate of growth and a sharp increase in the median age of residents.
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional districts in British Columbia and had an official population of 383,360 as of the Canada 2016 Census.
Greater Victoria is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is a cultural rather than political entity, usually defined as the thirteen easternmost municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) on Vancouver Island as well as some adjacent areas and nearby islands. The Capital Regional District administers some aspects of public administration for the whole metro region; other aspects are administered by the individual member municipalities of Greater Victoria. Roughly, Greater Victoria consists of all land and nearby islands east of a line drawn from the southern end of Finlayson Arm to the eastern shore of Sooke Harbour, along with some lands on the northern shore of Sooke Harbour.
Courtenay is a city 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.
Pacific Coastal Airlines Ltd is a Canadian regional airline that operates scheduled, charter and cargo services to destinations in British Columbia. Its head office is located in the South Terminal of Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia. Its main base is Vancouver International Airport, with a hub at Port Hardy Airport.
North Island College (NIC) is a community college located primarily on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. NIC facilities include four campuses and three centres serving a population of 157,000 and a geographic region of 80,000 square kilometers.
BC Transit is a provincial crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a junior "B" ice hockey league of 9 franchised member clubs, all of which are currently located in Canada, on Vancouver Island. The Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The winner of the Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy competes with the champions of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Pacific International Junior Hockey League for the Cyclone Taylor Cup, the British Columbia Provincial Title.
Claire Felicity Trevena is a Canadian politician, who represented the North Island electoral district Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2005 to 2020. Since July 2017, during the 41st Parliament, she served as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. She is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party and was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election and re-elected in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 elections. In the 38th Parliament of British Columbia, she sat on the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture and the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, as well as serving as the opposition critic on the Employment and Income Assistance ministry, followed by the critic on child care, early childhood development, and women's issues. In the 39th Parliament she acted as a deputy speaker before returning to her role as critic on the children and family development portfolio. In the 40th Parliament, she was the critic on transportation and BC Ferries and, in that role, produced a report comparing the BC Ferries system with the Washington State Ferries system and introduced the Provincial Shipbuilding Act in both 2014 and 2015 seeking to have future ferries constructed in Canada.
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.
Richmond Hospital (RH) is a medical facility in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH) is responsible for Richmond Health Services and Richmond Hospital.
Don McRae is a Former Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada, and a member of the BC Liberal Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly from the riding of Comox Valley in the 2009 provincial election. After serving nearly 2 years on the backbenches he was appointed Minister of Agriculture on March 14, 2011, in Premier Christy Clark's first cabinet. On September 5, 2012, he was appointed as the Minister of Education. In addition to his ministerial roles, he sat on the Environment and Land Use Committee and the Cabinet Committee on Open Government and Engagement. He introduced one piece of legislation, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Act, 2011.
An electoral redistribution in British Columbia was undertaken by the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission beginning in 2014 and was formalized by the passage of Bill 42, the 2015 Electoral Districts Act, during the 40th British Columbia Parliament. The act came into effect on November 17, 2015. The redistribution added two seats to the previous total, increasing the number of MLAs in the province from 85 to 87. The electoral boundaries came into effect for the 2017 election. The next redistribution is required to occur following the 2020 British Columbia general election.
