Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

student vote
Twenty-seven Nanaimo & mid-Island schools running mock provincial elections
NANAIMO - While general voting day for the provincial election isn't until Saturday, hundreds of ballots are set to be cast over the next few days at local elementary and secondary schools.Student Vote, a nationwide campaign run by CIVIX, has partnered with 27 schools in the four ridings of Nanaimo-Gabriola, Nanaimo-La...
Oct 21, 2026
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On The Run
Nanaimo athletes represent at BC Cross-Country Championships
NANAIMO - The Nanaimo Track and Field Club hosted two events in a single day recently at the Arbutus Meadows Farm in Nanoose Bay.The major competition was the 2026 BC Athletics Cross Country Championships featuring 386 athletes and 37 clubs from across the province.Also on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 17, the club hel...
Oct 21, 2026
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early birds
Ladysmith-Oceanside leads B.C. for advance voting, some in Nanaimo well behind
NANAIMO - Heading into the final day of advance voting for the 2026 Provincial Election, voters in Ladysmith, Parksville, and Qualicum Beach are leading the province. Data from Elections BC shows as of Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 8 p.m., 14,512 ballots were cast in the expansive Ladysmith-Oceanside riding, representing around...
Oct 21, 2026
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dry and warm
Nanaimo on pace for driest October on record
NANAIMO - Unless some fall storms materialize soon, this month is shaping up to be one of the driest in the city's history. Nanaimo normally sees around 102 millimetres of rain in October, but repeated sunny days have resulted in minimal precipitation thus far, with only 7.6 millimetres falling, or 7.4 per cent of our ...
Oct 21, 2026
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Jailed
Sentenced Lantzville sex offender claimed he was a vigilante hunter
NANAIMO - Jailed for four months for possessing damaging pictures and videos of exploited young girls, a local offender argued he was trying to hold sex offenders accountable.Mathieu Simard-Desjardins, 40, was sentenced on Monday, Oct. 19, after pleading guilty to possessing child exploitation/sex abuse material follow...
Oct 20, 2026
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indoor courts
Tennis bubble to remain as City of Nanaimo continuing Westwood Lake land purchase
NANAIMO - Following impassioned calls from local user groups, the community's only indoor tennis facility will remain for now. City Councillors voted, during a Wednesday, Oct. 14, in-camera meeting, in support of keeping the Westwood Tennis Club bubble, as they move through the acquisition process of 2367 Arbot Rd. on ...
Oct 20, 2026
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British Columbia

Ballots cast on election day in B.C. will be counted by hand, Elections BC says
VANCOUVER - It's the last full day of campaigning in British Columbia's election ahead of final voting day Saturday, when most ballots will be counted by hand. Elections BC has confirmed that votes cast on election day will be tallied manually, in a de...
16m ago
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The 4 soldiers killed in fast-moving fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta
WAINWRIGHT - Four Armed Forces members were killed when a fast-moving fire overwhelmed soldiers during a training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, southeast of Edmonton, on Saturday. Dozens of others were injured, with 27 remaining in hospi...
8h ago
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Pair from Calgary attacked after Bruno Mars concert in Vancouver
VANCOUVER - Two people have been attacked after leaving a Bruno Mars show at BC Place Stadium, in the second violent incident after a major concert in Vancouver this year. Vancouver police say the pair from Calgary were attacked near the Gastown neighb...
9h ago
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Greens' Leader Lowan hits out as NDP suggests she's open to supporting Conservatives
Green Leader Emily Lowan has issued a statement saying a B.C. Conservative government would be "disastrous," after an NDP statement suggested she had openness to supporting minority rule by the Conservatives after Saturday's election. Lowan says Conser...
9h ago
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Video of contact with possibly rabid skunk in B.C. prompts health authority warning
VANCOUVER - Vancouver Coastal Health is warning anyone in the city's downtown who has had contact with a possibly rabid skunk to get a medical assessment immediately after a video emerged on social media. The video posted on Facebook on Oct. 10 shows a...
10h ago
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B.C. jury finds Adam Mann guilty in 2024 home-invasion murder of Tori Dunn
NEW WESTMINSTER - A man accused of killing a Surrey, B.C., resident during a home invasion in 2024 has been convicted of second-degree murder, in a case that triggered calls for bail reform. The BC Prosecution Service says Adam Mann was found guilty b...
14h ago
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Canada

Ballots cast on election day in B.C. will be counted by hand, Elections BC says
VANCOUVER - It's the last full day of campaigning in British Columbia's election ahead of final voting day Saturday, when most ballots will be counted by hand. Elections BC has confirmed that votes cast on election day will be tallied manually, in a de...
16m ago
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Canada working closely with EU on foreign aid as U.S. pulls back, Sarai says
OTTAWA - Canada's deepening ties with Europe could help fill some of the massive gaps left behind as the United States pulls back from foreign aid and embraces a "transactional" approach, says the secretary of state for international development. "When...
17m ago
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Military could begin Arctic sensor installations next summer
OTTAWA - National Defence plans to install 47 sensor stations across the North starting as early as next summer to bolster Norad's surveillance and early warning abilities, according to recently published regulatory filings. The planned installations w...
17m ago
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'Comfort kills dreams': Family says soldier killed in base fire was living his dream
PRINCE ALBERT - Patricia Farrell is not even a week removed from the death of her son in a military training exercise gone wrong. She looks over an array of seven photos of Pte. Shaun Farrell. One is of him as a newborn with a mohawk. Another shows him...
5h ago
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The 4 soldiers killed in fast-moving fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta
WAINWRIGHT - Four Armed Forces members were killed when a fast-moving fire overwhelmed soldiers during a training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, southeast of Edmonton, on Saturday. Dozens of others were injured, with 27 remaining in hospi...
8h ago
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Video of contact with possibly rabid skunk in B.C. prompts health authority warning
VANCOUVER - Vancouver Coastal Health is warning anyone in the city's downtown who has had contact with a possibly rabid skunk to get a medical assessment immediately after a video emerged on social media. The video posted on Facebook on Oct. 10 shows a...
10h ago
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