My Vancouver Island North
With 11 communities (and arenas, pools and a ski hill!) throughout Vancouver Island North, you’re as secluded or as social as you want to be. Go for a hike in the woods, celebrate a special occasion with a picnic by the ocean, or watch the game at the pub with friends and family.
My Vancouver Island North Life
What’s life like living on the north end of a Pacific island paradise? In a word – awesome. There are over a million acres of the greenest forests, secret lakes for summer days, a ski mountain with untracked fresh powder, extensive backcountry hiking, a vast ocean playground, winters so mild snow is newsworthy, a growing economy, great jobs and a solid community to depend on.
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My Vancouver Island North Business
Forestry and fishing jobs are a well-known part of our local industry, but so are tourism and hospitality, education, marine, medicine, trades, and other career options. Launch your own business to serve our regions’ residents, or work online to sell to the rest of the world. We have some of the highest speed internet in British Columbia and direct daily flights to Vancouver.
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“Come write your story”
Vancouver Island North offers immense opportunities for lifestyle, career, family and recreation. We offer a variety of business opportunities, room to grow and opportunities for single detached house ownership
Further detailed information about our region can be found here: https://communityinformationtool.gov.bc.ca
Photo credits: Cover/9/10 (Bodkin’s Best Photography). 1/14 RDMW, 2/6/14/16 Geoff Heith, 3/17/18/19, Megan Hanacek, 4 Brian Texmo, 5 Michele Babchuk, 7/12 Brenda Irving, 8 James Harrison, 11 Kim Kufaas, 13 Stu Crabe, 15 Tyson Mackay
11,000 people make Vancouver Island North their home, and the region’s relative isolation from larger centres yet proximity to urban amenities is an asset that makes the communities unique and desirable to live in. The region has considerable resources over a large land base of 20,288.4 square kilometres.
The Vancouver Island North region is located on the Traditional Territories of Kwakwaka’wakw people, with some of the oldest human settlements discovered in North America (over 14,000 years old). U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay is the region’s most comprehensive cultural centre.
Incredible stories and great memories have come out of this region of Vancouver Island. It’s our desire to share these stories with potential new residents who are interested in an alternative lifestyle, fresh air, and access to healthy jobs, careers and educational opportunities.
These stories reflect a strong sense of community, and close bonds with family and friends.
Our communities are strong with resident supported gatherings and events. From theatre productions, to sporting events and community gatherings, we offer it all! Further information on the latest community events held for all ages can be found on our community events page: www.myvancouverislandnorth.ca/life-here/our-stories.
Elementary education in the region focuses on learning, engagement and access. With 10 elementary schools and 3 secondary schools, School District 85 provides transformative and inspired educational opportunities. North Island College campus also offers a variety of inperson and virtual opportunities for learning, career advancement and upgrading of skills.
Island Health provides health care and support services to more than 767,000 people on Vancouver Island, the islands in the Salish Sea and the Johnstone Strait, and the mainland communities north of Powell River.
Island Health is the source for information on Health Care on Vancouver Island North. They have information on your health, health services, care locations, careers, your visit and physicians.
North Island life is a beautiful thing. The communities are set in rich wilderness drawing visitors from around the world. The abundance of resources extends to land and sea, and the communities work to support policies that will ensure jobs, a healthy environment and sustainable living for the future.
Vancouver Island North offers access to lush forests, lakes, waterfalls and spectacular ocean views – there’s an abundance and wide range of trails for all hiking levels to be explored. The Vancouver Island North region offers some of the most open access to back country areas on Vancouver Island. There are logging and public access roads to explore throughout the region, as well as many provincial and regional parks, trails and beaches. You can check out local Visitor Centres for hiking options close to communities, visit Vancouver Island North Tourism’s website (www.vancouverislandnorth.ca) for more adventure ideas.
Fishing is synonymous with Vancouver Island North. Port Hardy is one of the biggest offload ports of commercially caught fish in the province, and recreational fishers can target all five species of salmon and a healthy ground-fish population that includes halibut, snapper, and various cod. River and lake fishing is also abundant, with trout and
steelhead being the predominant and prized freshwater catches. There is also an avid hunting community. The local sports clubs can provide insight and guidance into these activities.
Being one of the most biodiverse areas of B.C., Vancouver Island North is a wildlife haven!
The communities are surrounded in an abundance marine life ranging from seals to whales and land animals like black bears and birds of prey.
The annual Herring and Salmon run that visits these waters every year draw out apex creatures – from Orcas to Humpback Whales, Grizzly and Black Bears, in the region you can easily view the wildlife that makes the area world famous.
Skiing and snowboarding are a well-kept secret of Vancouver Island’s locals. Higher elevations receive large volumes of snow and provide some excellent skiing and snowboarding options.
Mount Cain is located a 50 minute drive south of Port McNeill and provides the highest altitude for skiing on the Island. If you aren’t interested in downhill, the resort boast excellent cross country skiing, snowshoeing and social activities.
From freshwater kayaking, paddle boarding, windsurfing, canoeing to diving and surfing, we have it all! Our temperate climate allows all these activities and more throughout the seasons.
The resources of Vancouver Island North position the region as one of the most important timber and mining aggregate production areas in Canada. Local Orca Sand and Gravel is the biggest aggregate quarry in the Northern Hemisphere. With globally unique biodiversity, the British Columbia’s Central Coast planning region contains onequarter of the world’s coastal temperate rainforest and offers breathtaking beauty and unparalleled recreational opportunities alongside sustainable harvest of resources.
Aquaculture includes the culture and harvest of sea animals, vegetation (kelps) and related activities. On Vancouver Island North, there are salmon fish farms and kelp & shellfish aquaculture operations occurring in select regions, largely facilitated by First Nations on their traditional territories.
Fishing has been at the heart of daily life in the Regional District of Mount Waddington for thousands of years in First Nations communities, and through the past hundred or more years commercial fishing has served as a major economic driver for the region’s communities. Port Hardy continues to function as one of British Columbia’s largest commercial fishing ports and the regions other communities all host small local commercial fishing fleets.
Health services and education are a major employer on Vancouver Island North. There are opportunities for practitioners to gain experience and establish long-lasting careers at any one of the professional service locations (hospitals and schools) throughout the region. Additionally, there are satellite medical services that assist remote communities that provide unique opportunities in the workplace.
Vancouver Island North represents 50% of Vancouver Island’s landmass, and holds 2% of Vancouver Island’s population. The wilderness and wildlife that surround the regions’ charming, relaxed, and sometimes rugged communities is easy to access on the proverbial roadless-travelled. This creates an environment that is ripe with eco-tourism opportunities. Our wild area of the province is home to some of the most rich biodiversity in the province from alpine mountain tops to the best cold water diving on the planet.
The small business, retail and service sectors are important components of any rural town’s economy. In these sectors, there are both entrepreneurial opportunities on the North Island that have yet to be explored, and examples of retail and service business that have lasted generations and provide anchor services in the region. From restaurants to micro-breweries to barbers and pet stores, our small businesses provide friendly and helpful services, with the charm of a small town feel.
Hope Is. Nigei Is. Balaklava Is.
Shushartie Saddle
Knob Hill
Pine Is. Kent Is. Staples Is. McLeod Is. Deserters Is.
Hurst Is. Bell
Woodward Peak
Nahwitti Mountain
Pemberton Hills
Mount Brandes
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O’Conner L.
Rough Bay
Lewis Cove
Mackenzie Sound
Sullivan Bay
LeMare L.
Keogh L.
Skidder L.
Three Isle L.
Kathleen L. Maynard L.
Benson L.
Iron L.
Trout L.
Tahsish L.
Karmutzen Mountain
Nimpkish Lake
Trinity Bay
Kingcome Inlet
Upper Kakwelken Lake
Kakwelken River
“Come write your story”
Beaver Cove
Roselle L. Theimer L.
Vancouver Island North offers immense opportunities for lifestyle, career, family and recreation. We offer a variety of business opportunities, room to grow and opportunities for single detached house ownership
Ida L.
Mount Hoy
Bonanza L.
Mount Kinman
Tlakwa Mountain
Anutz L.
Diane L.
Kainum Mountain
Huson L.
Tsiko L.
Mount Renwick
Aster Bay Cape Cook Lagoon Johnson Lagoon Power L.
Gaultheria L.
Menziesia L.
Battle Bay
Garibaldi Peaks
Mukwilla L.
Wolfe L. Atluck L.
Pinder Peak
Mook Peak
Silburn L.
Kaipit L.
Zeballos L.
Fair Harbour
Haihte Range
Lukwa Mountain Rugged Mountain
Mount Ashwood
Mount Markusen
AdamRiver
Eve River
Further detailed information about our region can be found here: https://communityinformationtool.gov.bc.ca
Schoen L. Nisnak L.
Klaklakama L.
Woss L.
Mount McKelvie Woss Mountain
Vernon L.
Irving, 8 James Harrison, 11 Kim Kufaas, 13 Stu Crabe, 15 Tyson Mackay
