Geography

Nanaimo is a mid-sized coastal city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, situated roughly 110 kilometres NNW from Victoria. 

It contains Nanaimo Harbour and Departure Bay on its eastern shore, which are both part of the larger Strait of Georgia. Newcastle Island Marine Park and Protection Island are both under the jurisdiction of Nanaimo, as are the smaller and lesser-known Jesse Island and Brandon Islands. There are several small lakes in Nanaimo, including Westwood Lake, Green Lake, and Long Lake. 

The climate region is temperate, with mild temperatures and considerable rainfall throughout most of the year, and warm, dry summers. It is classified as both dry-summer mediterranean and marine west coast, according to the Government of Canada’s climate data.

Economic and social background 

As of 2021, the population of Nanaimo is 99,863, which represents a +10.3 per cent growth from 2016.

The average total yearly income for individuals over 15 was $48,880 in 2020, which jumped up to $66,000 for individuals who work full-time, year-round. Of all residents, 40.5 per cent earned less than $40,000 in 2020, and 6.5 per cent earned over $100,000. 

As of 2021, 14.2 per cent of Nanaimo’s population was between 0-14 years of age, 61.2 per cent were between 15-64 years old, and 24.6 per cent were over 65 years of age. 

85 per cent of Nanaimo’s population speaks English as their first language, while only 1 per cent speaks French as their first language. 11 per cent of the population has a non-official language as their first language. Mandarin, Punjabi, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, Spanish, Korean, and Dutch are among the non-official first languages found in Nanaimo. Thirty individuals (0.03 per cent of the population) speak an Indigenous language as their first language. 

Nanaimo’s major industries are–in descending order–health care and social assistance, retail, construction, tourism & hospitality, professional services and technology, education, transportation, and public administration. 

All data is from the Statistics Canada 2021 Census Profile.

The Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is a major employer in the city, as is Vancouver Island University. The vast majority of businesses (87 percent in 2022) had between one and 19 employees. 

Political Governance

Nanaimo was incorporated in December, 1874. It was the sixth municipality incorporated in B.C. 

Mayor

Leonard Krog: 250-755-4400 | leonard.krog@nanaimo.ca X: @mayorkrog

Councillors

Sheryl Armstrong: 250-668-6748 | sheryl.armstrong@nanaimo.ca X: @sherylananaimo

Tyler Brown: 250-713-5781 | tyler.brown@nanaimo.ca Can’t find any social.

Hilary Eastmure: 250-268-5898 | hilary.eastmure@nanaimo.ca X: @HilaryEastmure

Ben Geselbracht: 250-713-4173 | ben.geselbracht@nanaimo.ca X: @BenJGeselbracht

Erin Hemmens: 250-268-4552 | erin.hemmens@nanaimo.ca Facebook: Erin Hemmens

Paul Manly: 250-268-5899 | paul.manly@nanaimo.ca X: @PaulManly

Janice Perrino: 250-268-5901 | janice.perrino@nanaimo.ca Couldn’t find any social. 

Ian Thorpe: 250-713-9135 | ian.thorpe@nanaimo.ca Couldn’t find any social. 

Nanaimo / Ladysmith public schools (School District 68) board of trustees

Naomi Bailey (board chair): 250 741-4703 | naomi.bailey@sd68.bc.ca

Greg Keller (vice-chair): 250-713-6709 | greg.keller@sd68.bc.ca

Tania Brzovic: 250-816-7277 | tania.brzovic@sd68.bc.ca

Leanne Lee: 250-802-6792 | leanne.lee@sd68.bc.ca

Chantelle Morvay: 250-802-7462 | chantelle.morvay@sd68.bc.ca

Leana Pellegrin: 250-802-7287 | leana.pellegrin@sd68.bc.ca

Mark Robinson: 250-802-6137 | mark.robinson@sd68.bc.ca

Tom Rokeby: 250-802-6507 | tom.rokeby@sd68.bc.ca

Tim Harris: 250-816-7251 | tim.harris@sd68.bc.ca

Snuneymuxw First Nation

Chief Michael Wyse, Xum'silum: 250-740-2337 | michaelw@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Elias (Eli) Wyse: 250-740-2337 | eliw@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Edward Good Sr: 250-740-2337 | edwardg@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Kate Good: 250-740-2337 | kateg@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Wanda Good: 250-740-2337 | wandag@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Erralyn Joseph: 250-740-2337 | erralynt@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Emmy Manson: 250-740-2337 | emanson@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Regan Seward: 250-740-2337 | regans@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Isaac Thomas: 250-740-2337 | isaact@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Tzuq'nustun (Paul Wyse-Seward): 250-740-2337 | paulws@snuneymuxw.ca

Councillor Sqwulutsultun William (Bill) Yoachim: 250-740-2337 | billy@snuneymuxw.ca

Nanaimo Media Scan

Anti-SOGI trustee candidate in Nanaimo-Ladysmith escorted off school property by RCMP

I don’t find it surprising or particularly interesting that there was an anti-SOGI candidate in the 2022 school board trustee election, who was bringing inappropriate (and inaccurate) shock-value materials into a debate. What I do find a bit surprising, and very heartening, is how swiftly and completely the candidate, Tanner Scott, was rebuked by every single other trustee candidate. Tanner Scott was not elected as a trustee, and I believe this article did a good job of foreshadowing the values that the majority of Nanaimo voters believed to be important, as evidenced by the results of the election. 

Nanaimo expects better from the incoming provincial government: Krog

I think this article paints an interesting picture of not only the major issues facing Nanaimo, but who Mayor Leonard Krog is as a politician. His willingness to publicly call out the NDP, a party he was elected to four times as an MLA, signals a prioritization of his community and electorate over the usual party loyalties of many career politicians. I think the journalist, Wolf Depner, did a great job of highlighting the issues that Krog, and other similar mayors, are having with the provincial government, and how those issues have become so pronounced that each mayor is happy to abandon party loyalty in favour of getting real solutions for their constituents. 

Nanaimo narrowly approves new facility for homeless, despite concerns of neighbours

This article both highlights a critical need in Nanaimo (facilities for unhoused people), and speaks to the character of Mayor Leonard Krog by quoting him as “literally begging” city councilors to approve the facility. I think the journalist, Carla Wilson, did an excellent job at showing both sides of the story on what is clearly a very contentious issue in the city. I also think the quotes she chose from the councilors highlight the willingness of many of those councilors to speak very frankly about a sensitive topic. 

With ‘Luminous Paths,’ Nanaimo looks towards a brighter future for the downtown

The winter arts festival lit up a downtown park, amid ongoing concerns about safety in the area

A month-long winter arts festival encouraged Nanaimo residents to see downtown in a new light.

Luminous Paths brought art, music and activities to downtown’s Maffeo-Sutton Park to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the City of Nanaimo’s first council meeting. On its opening night on Jan. 22, the festival featured live performances, food trucks, and family-friendly interactive activities. Illuminated art installations by five local artists remained in the park until the closing event on Feb. 17.

Jaime-Brett Sine, the city’s culture coordinator, said the idea behind hosting Luminous Paths in the park was to allow people to engage with an area of town they might not otherwise go to on a dark, winter evening. Sine said a downtown park at night may be uninviting or even intimidating to many people, so the festival was intended to help people reimagine the space.

“It just felt like a really good metaphor for the light that art brings to people’s lives,” Sine said. “Especially when times are tough.”

Differing opinions

Downtown Nanaimo has been the subject of a spate of negative attention in recent years, due to what many city residents perceive to be a dramatic increase in crime and disorder from the city’s growing unhoused population. In the 2023 homelessness count, city council registered 515 individuals experiencing homelessness, an 18.9 per cent increase from 2020. But some advocates in the city say the number could be as high as 1,000, in a city with a population of 104,000.

Steven Johns, a business owner and the vice-chair of the Downtown Business Association, said much of the negative publicity around downtown is unfair.

“I think a lot of it is just fear,” Johns said. “We do have a homeless problem. Nanaimo is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, and with growth comes growing pain. And that’s all these things are, we’re just working through.”

Luminous Paths took place alongside a broader city-led revitalization plan for downtown Nanaimo, which includes a number of construction projects that will see the refurbishing of downtown plazas, pedestrian areas and public spaces over the next several years.

Amy Ferris, co-owner of White Rabbit Coffee Co. and Black Rabbit Kitchen, said there was a noticeable uptick in families visiting downtown throughout Luminous Paths compared to other winter evenings.

“Arts and culture is the main way that we’re finding that we’re able to get people kind of out and engaged with the city,” Ferris said. “So seeing an initiative in the winter months where we see lower traffic has been really helpful and very smart of the new administration.”

But for some residents, art festivals and street redesigns are Band-Aid solutions for a much larger issue.

Broader concerns

Joe Kingdon, a nurse and Nanaimo resident, said his hesitation around the area is due to the prevalence of open drug use and “the unpredictable behaviour, the violence, that does spring out of that lifestyle.”

Kingdon used to come downtown with his family, and still occasionally does on his own, but no longer brings his children with him.

“Just seeing the decay of our social fabric, you know, people literally overdosed and comatose on the street in these very wild and zombie-looking like positions. That terrifies my one child.”

Kingdon said initiatives like Luminous Paths and street redesigns are good for people who live downtown, but will do nothing to revitalize the area without a broader societal conversation around drug policy, which he acknowledged is beyond the scope of only Nanaimo or any one festival.

“Revitalization means different things to different people,” he said. “I do have a lot of respect for some of the businesses downtown and you know, I appreciate the struggles that they’re going through. I wish them well.”

A brighter future

While Ferris acknowledges that the tension around downtown Nanaimo is still “prevalent and ongoing,” she believes the future of the area is bright.

“So much of what the city is doing is just beginning,” she said.

Ferris said she and her partner have been working with other businesses, Tourism Nanaimo and the arts community, to build a strong sense of interconnectedness in the city, “to show people who are coming from off Island that Nanaimo is interesting and it has culture and it’s worth stopping in.”

Ferris said if there is a disdain for coming downtown, it won’t encourage her and others like her to keep doing what they’re doing.

“I think the only way that we’re going to combat this is through pride of place.”