Nanaimo

There are several federal and provincial electoral districts with the name Nanaimo. These are listed on Nanaimo (electoral districts)

"Nanaimo" redirects here. For the SkyTrain station, see Nanaimo Station

Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo Skyline
Flag of Nanaimo, British Columbia Flag Coat of arms of Nanaimo, British Columbia Coat of arms
Country	Canada
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Nanaimo
Incorporated	1853
Government
• Mayor	Gary Richard Korpan
• Governing body	Nanaimo City Council
• MPs	Jean Crowder James Lunney
• MLAs	Leonard Krog Ron Cantelon
Area
• City	89.30 km2 (34.48 sq mi)
Elevation	20 m (70 ft)
Population  (2006)
• City	78,692 (ranked 61st)
• Density	881.2/km2 (2,282/sq mi)
• Metro	92,361 (ranked 38th)
• Metro density	72.2/km2 (187/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
Postal code span	V9R to V9V
Area code	+1-250
Website	City of Nanaimo

Nanaimo (Template:PronEng) (pop. 79,000), is the second largest city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Forrest is greeeeeeeat" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown streets which form a "hub" pattern. It is also fondly known as the "Hub, Tub, and Pub City" because of its association with the bathtub racing and the numerous "watering holes" in Old Nanaimo. It is the seat of the Regional District of Nanaimo.

Location and geography

Aerial photo of Nanaimo and surrounding area

Located on Vancouver Island at 49°10′N 123°56′W, Nanaimo is about 55 km west of Vancouver, separated by the Strait of Georgia, but directly linked to Vancouver via BC Ferries. By virtue of its proximity to Vancouver, Nanaimo is the gateway to many other destinations both on the island — Tofino, Comox Valley, Campbell River, Port Alberni, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park — and off its coast — Newcastle Island, Protection Island, Gabriola Island, Valdes Island, and many other of the Gulf Islands. Nanaimo has oft been referred to as 'A mall in search of a city' due to the malls that stretch from the south to the north.

History

Nanaimo began as a trading post in the early 1800s; in 1849 the Snuneymuxw chief Ki-et-sa-kun ("Coal Tyee") informed the Hudson's Bay Company of the presence of coal in the area, and in 1853 the company built a fort known as the Nanaimo Bastion (still preserved). Subsequently the town was chiefly known for the export of coal.

Robert Dunsmuir established coal mines in the Nanaimo harbour area and later to Wellington at Northfield. With the success of Dunsmuir and Diggle, the first company, more mines came to the area. Dunsmuir bought his partner out, and expanded his operations to include a steam railway. Dunsmuir sold the coal to the Royal Navy ships, and exported it to Puget Sound and San Francisco. The 1887 Nanaimo Mine Explosion killed 150 miners and was the largest man-made explosion until the Halifax Explosion. In the 1940s, lumber supplanted coal as the main business, although Minetown Days are still celebrated in the neighbouring community of Lantzville..

Economy

File:Waterfront.jpeg

Nanaimo Waterfront

A recent surge of higher-density real estate development, centred in the Old City/Downtown area, as well as construction of a city-funded waterfront conference centre, have proven controversial. Proponents of these developments argue that they will bolster the city's economy, while critics worry that they will block waterfront views and increase traffic congestion. Concerns have also been raised about the waterfront conference centre's construction running over its proposed budget. The current council is working hard to solve illegal drug and motorcycle club issues, including hiring security personnel to patrol certain areas of the downtown core. Nanaimo has also been experiencing job growth in the technology sector.

Media outlets

Nanaimo Harbour

Nanaimo is served by two newspapers - the award-winning Black Press-owned Nanaimo News Bulletin (35,000 copies three times a week) and the Canwest-owned Nanaimo Daily News with about 6,500 copies. Canwest also publishes an advertiser, the Harbour City Star. Nanaimo is served by television broadcasters: a bureau for A-Channel, which is carried on local cable channel 12, and a satellite office for CHEK-TV, which is carried on cable 6.

Three radio stations, CHWF-FM, CKWV-FM (both a part of The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group), and CHLY-FM (an independent community campus radio station) operate in Nanaimo.

Politics

In the Canadian House of Commons, Nanaimo is represented by the ridings of Nanaimo—Cowichan (Jean Crowder, New Democratic Party) and Nanaimo—Alberni (James Lunney, Conservative). In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Nanaimo is represented by the ridings of Nanaimo (Leonard Krog, New Democratic Party of British Columbia) and Nanaimo-Parksville (Ron Cantelon, British Columbia Liberal Party). The mayor of Nanaimo is currently Gary Richard Korpan. The most colourful and famous mayor Nanaimo ever had was Frank J. Ney, who instigated Nanaimo's well-known bathtub races, which he regularly attended dressed as a pirate. There is a statue to commemorate Ney - dressed in his pirate costume - and the bathtub races at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon, which is on the Nanaimo waterfront; Ney was also an MLA for the Social Credit party while he was also mayor.

Education

Nanaimo has over 30 elementary and secondary schools, most of which are public and are operated by School District 68 Nanaimo-Ladysmith,

Malaspina University-College's beautiful and scenic main campus is located in Nanaimo, which brings many international students to the city. The school is also renowned for its music programs, particularly the jazz program, pioneered by Professor Steve Jones, among others. The university is also becoming well known for its excellent teacher education programs.

Sports

Nanaimo is home to the Canadian Junior Football League's Vancouver Island Raiders, who play at Caledonia Park.

Nanaimo is home to the British Columbia Hockey League's Nanaimo Clippers and to the Western Lacrosse Association's Nanaimo Timbermen, both of which play at the Frank Crane Arena.

The Nanaimo Pirates, of the B.C. Premier Baseball League (BCPBL), play at Serauxmen Stadium.

the Nanaimo United, Of the Vancouver Island Soccer league (VISL), play at mearle logan turf field in [[Beban park}}

Trivia

Diana Krall and Elvis Costello live just north of Nanaimo and are often seen perusing the racks of the local record stores. Krall and Costello co-wrote Departure Bay, a song about their Nanaimo home on Krall's 2004 album The Girl in the Other Room.

The phrase "the Full Nanaimo" has come to refer a certain style of dress associated with the male business community in Nanaimo dating in the 1960-1980s, and often associated with Frank Ney, who was the mayor and leading business figure in Nanaimo at this time. This dress style often features white patent leather shoes and a white belt, and sometimes with plaid pants or sports jacket, or with the leisure suit of this era. It is also associated with general tackiness in dress and fortrel material. (The term "Full Nanaimo" is the Canadian westcoast equivalent of the "Full Cleveland.")

Miscellaneous

Nanaimo is home to the oldest continuous community band in Canada, The Nanaimo Concert Band, established in 1872. Nanaimo is also known for its bathtub race during the annual marine festival, and for firing a cannon (blank) on the parapet next to the Bastion, (a bastion or fort), every day at noon during the summer months and for special events.

Nanaimo is home to Petroglyph Provincial Park, where visitors can view ancient petroglyph rock carvings and runes. Newcastle Island is another provincial park in Nanaimo, and was at one time a world-famous summertime tourist destination.

Nanaimo is named for the Snuneymuxw people.

Nanaimo is the origin of the famous Nanaimo bar dessert, which has its origins in the early 1950s.

The Civic arena built in 1939 was torn down in the fall of 2006. During its demolition, Native artifacts were found beside and under the arena.

The Nanaimo midget 'A' Timbermen won the 2006 British Columbia provincial championships.

Notable persons

• Cameron Bright, child actor
• Anne Cameron, writer
• Kim Cattrall, actress
• Justin Chatwin, actor
• Glen Clark, politician
• Raymond Collishaw, World War One "ace" pilot
• Allison Crowe, singer/songwriter and pianist
• John DeSantis, actor
• Jodelle Ferland, child actress
• David Gogo, professional blues guitarist
• Ingrid Jensen, jazz trumpet player
• Diana Krall, jazz pianist and singer
• Tim Lander, poet
• Frank Ney, politician, civic personality
• Kevin Patterson, author
• Shane Sutcliffe, professional boxer
• Kirsten Sweetland, triathlete

External links

• Nanaimo homepage
• Great Nanaimo Bar Recipes