Port McNeill

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Port McNeill
Town of Port McNeill [1]
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Port McNeill
Location of Port McNeill in British Columbia
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Port McNeill
Port McNeill (British Columbia)
Coordinates: 50°35′25″N127°05′05″W / 50.59028°N 127.08472°W / 50.59028; -127.08472
CountryCanada
Province British Columbia
Region Vancouver Island
Regional district Mount Waddington
Founded1936
Incorporated1966
Government
  Governing bodyPort McNeill Town Council
  MayorJames Furney
Area
  Total13.77 km2 (5.32 sq mi)
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2021 [2] )
  Total2,356
  Density170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Time zone UTC−8 (PST)
  Summer (DST) UTC−7 (PDT)
Postal code
V0N 2R0
Area code(s) 250, 778
Highways 19
Waterways Johnstone Strait, Queen Charlotte Strait
Climate Cfb
Website portmcneill.ca

Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada [3] on Vancouver Island's northeast shore, on Queen Charlotte Strait. Originally a base camp for loggers, it became a settlement in 1936. It was named after Captain William Henry McNeill of the Hudson's Bay Company.

Contents

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population by Statistics Canada, Port McNeill's population was 2,356, living in 1,019 of its 1,111 total private dwellings,

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Port McNeill included: [5]

Tourism and location

Along with housing the headquarters of the Regional District of Mount Waddington, Port McNeill is a central hub for all of North Vancouver Island.[ citation needed ] It offers the only access to the villages of Alert Bay (Cormorant Island) and Sointula (Malcolm Island) via BC Ferries which run daily. Port McNeill Airport is five minutes to the south on highway 19.

The town is also a popular summer tourism destination. There is a large population of wildlife including black bear, cougar, elk and deer. The town has a museum and a history centred on the area's logging history.

Other information

Logging remains the primary employer in Port McNeill, accounting for 25.7% of the labour force [6] and contributing about 8% of the total BC timber harvest. [7] The main contractors are Western Forest Products and LeMare Lake Logging. Port McNeill is also the home of the world's largest burl. [8]

Orca Sand & Gravel LP, the largest sand and gravel quarry in the northern hemisphere, opened here in February 2007. Material is shipped via 70,000 tonne container ships to ports in California and Hawaii and via 7000 tonne barges to Vancouver. [9]

Kwagis Power, owned by Brookfield Renewable Power and the 'Namgis First Nation, built a 45-megawatt hydroelectric facility on the Kokish River near Port McNeill. The Steelhead Society of B.C. and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee opposed the project. The project was finished in early 2014. [10] [11]

Port McNeill is the hometown of Willie Mitchell, a former NHL defenceman, and the birthplace of former NHL defenceman Clayton Stoner. It is also the hometown of Thomas Symons, [12] Canada's rookie representation at the 2022 STIHL World Timbersports Championship, which began May 27 in Vienna, Austria. [13]

The first, second and fourth seasons of the History channel television show Alone were filmed in the forest outside Port McNeill. The third season filmed in Patagonia and featured local resident Megan Hanacek. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia</span> Province of Canada

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. British Columbia borders the province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho and Montana to the south, and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.6 million as of 2024, it is Canada's third-most populous province. The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, while the province's largest city is Vancouver. Vancouver and its suburbs together make up the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, with the 2021 census recording 2.6 million people in Metro Vancouver. British Columbia is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Island</span> Largest island in British Columbia, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnaby</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sooke</span> District municipality in British Columbia, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sointula</span> Village in British Columbia, Canada

Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present territory of the ‘Namgis First Nation. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 576, down 3.0% from the 2006 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alert Bay</span> Village in British Columbia, Canada

Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, near the town of Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island, in the Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional District of Mount Waddington</span> Regional district in British Columbia, Canada

The Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW) is a regional district in British Columbia. It takes in the lower Central Coast region centred on the Queen Charlotte Strait coast of northern Vancouver Island and the adjoining parts of mainland British Columbia. It has a total land area of 20,288.4 km2 and a 2016 census population of 11,035 persons, most of which is in towns on Vancouver Island and adjoining islands. The administrative centre is in the town of Port McNeill. Other municipalities include the district municipality of Port Hardy, the village of Port Alice, and the village of Alert Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holberg, British Columbia</span> Place in British Columbia, Canada

Holberg is a former ferry terminal about 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the northwest tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This unincorporated community is at the head of Holberg Inlet, which forms the western arm of Quatsino Sound.

Port Clements is an incorporated village situated at the east end of Masset Inlet in Haida Gwaii off the coast of the Province of British Columbia in Canada. Known as Gamadiis in HlG̱aagilda X̱aayda kil, it is one of seven village sites that flourished in the rich waters at the mouth of Yakoun River, where an estuary shelters nine Pacific salmonid species and many kinds of birds. Founded by Eli Tingley in 1907, it was once known under the name Queenstown, but renamed to Port Clements in 1914 after Herb S. Clements, the local MP at the time, when the name "Queenstown" duplicated and therefore became unusable for the post office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Alice</span> Village in British Columbia, Canada

Port Alice is a village of approximately 739 located on Neroutsos Inlet, southwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural environment, pulp mill, and salt water fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woss</span> Designated place in British Columbia, Canada

Woss, also commonly known as Woss Lake after the nearby lake of the same name, is a small village in the Nimpkish Valley, located 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Port McNeill and 128 km (80 mi) north of Campbell River on Highway 19, in northeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The estimated population of Woss and the Nimpkish Valley is 200. The town of Woss lies about 3 km north of Woss Lake, a long, narrow lake stretching about 10 km in a primarily north-south direction with a maximum width of about one km, the southern portion of which is part of Woss Lake Provincial Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Trevena</span> Canadian politician

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Beaver Cove is a small coastal community on Northern Vancouver Island, located on the cove of the same name. It is located at the mouth of the Kokish River, 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Port McNeill and 3 km (2 mi) up the inlet from Telegraph Cove.

References

  1. "British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address" (XLS). British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. "Census Profile, 2021 Census - Port McNeill [Population centre], British Columbia and British Columbia [Province]".
  3. "Port McNeill". BC Geographical Names .
  4. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), British Columbia". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  5. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-10-26). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  6. BC Stats Community Facts - Port McNeill
  7. Port McNeill website
  8. Roadside Attractions website
  9. "Server Home Page".
  10. "Building a 45-MW hydro project in British Columbia". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23.
  11. Duffy, Andrew (17 December 2011). "Conservationists brace for electric fight on Kokish River". Victoria Times-Colonist. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  12. "Thomas Symons". STIHL. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  13. "A cut above: Port McNeill rookie heads to Vienna to compete in world logger sports". Victoria Times Colonist. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  14. Megan Hanacek survived in the wild for 78 days on hit TV show Alone