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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

find your candidate
NanaimoNewsNOW launches interactive 'Know Your Vote' tool ahead of local election
NANAIMO - NanaimoNewsNOW is looking to provide voters a little more clarity amid a crowded field of local candidates this month.Beginning Thursday, Oct. 1, voters in the City of Nanaimo can use our new, interactive Know Your Vote tool to see how their thoughts and opinions on various topics match with those of the cand...
13h ago
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lower fire danger
Backyard & industrial fire bans lifted by Coastal Fire Centre
NANAIMO - All remaining fire bans on Vancouver Island will be lifted as of noon on Wednesday, Sept. 30.The campfire ban was removed earlier this month, and the Coastal Fire Centre said category two and three open fires will now be permitted.Category two fires include burn piles not exceeding two metres in height and th...
Sep 30, 2026
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tough questions
Nanaimo Mayor and Council candidates grilled in open forum
NANAIMO - A capacity crowd filled the Vancouver Island Conference Centre to hear from nearly every candidate running for Nanaimo Mayor and Council next month. Hosted by the Nanaimo and District Chamber of Commerce, an all-candidates forum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, gave voters the opportunity to mingle with candidates in an...
Sep 30, 2026
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orange shirt day
Local events to honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
NANAIMO - Wednesday, Sep. 30 is the sixth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, with events taking place across the mid-Island to commemorate the occasion. In Nanaimo, Deverill Square Park at 200 Irwin St. will host a free community event from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., starting with a traditional blessing by ...
Sep 29, 2026
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2026 municipal election
Two-time Parksville city councillor hoping to be the next mayor
This article is part of a multi-week feature from NanaimoNewsNOW, profiling Mayoral candidates across the mid-Island ahead of the 2026 Municipal Election. For complete election coverage, click here.PARKSVILLE - Much like the trajectory of Parksville's outgoing mayor, a city councillor is looking to leap into the city's...
Sep 29, 2026
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tangible representation
'They belong here:' new welcome pole unveiled at Wellington Secondary
NANAIMO - A new welcome pole at a local high school is being viewed as a concrete message for staff and students: everyone is welcome here.Carved by Snuneymuxw First Nation artist Noel Brown, the yellow and red cedar artwork was officially unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 29, during a whole-school ceremony outside the main e...
Sep 29, 2026
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British Columbia

OneBC interim leader Dallas Brodie she is open to election deal with Conservatives
VICTORIA - OneBC interim leader Dallas Brodie says she doesn't understand why the Conservatives are running a candidate in her riding during the B.C. election but she's prepared to make a deal with her former party. Brodie, who is the incumbent legisl...
53m ago
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Pulp mill in Howe Sound, B.C., to reopen after shutting 'indefinitely' back in August
GIBSONS - A union representing B.C. pulp mill workers says it's welcoming news that a shuttered facility in Howe Sound is set to reopen later this month. Unifor says a deal between the province and operator Domtar has the mill poised to get back up an...
1h ago
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B.C. Mounties showed 'concerning' conduct in investigation into B.C. death: watchdog
SURREY - The Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia says it found "concerning and problematic conduct" from some RCMP officers who failed to co-operate during an investigation. The provincial police watchdog made the comments in a report...
2h ago
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Former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe to run for B.C. Greens in provincial vote
VICTORIA - The British Columbia Green Party has named former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe as the party's candidate in the riding of Saanich South on Vancouver Island. Leader Emily Lowan announced Lapointe's candidacy as the party unveiled its toxic drug...
4h ago
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Bank of Canada's key rate 'too blunt' to fix housing unaffordability: official
A top official at the Bank of Canada says monetary policymakers are struggling to find new tools and pathways to address persistent housing affordability challenges. Senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers gave a speech in Victoria, B.C., on Thursday tha...
6h ago
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Police Watchdog investigating after man jumps from Metro Vancouver bridge
SURREY - British Columbia's police watchdog agency is investigating the actions of officers after a man jumped from a Metro Vancouver bridge and disappeared over the weekend. The Independent Investigations Office says in a release that it happened Satu...
6h ago
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Canada

Supreme Court to examine jurisdictional question in alleged cryptocurrency fraud case
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will look into whether an Ontario court had jurisdiction to impose a statutory freeze on cryptocurrency in an alleged fraud case. Three Nigerian citizens are accused of defrauding a person in Canada of about $65,000...
5h ago
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QuickQuotes: Reaction to the Pacific Link pipeline project
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday that the Pacific Link pipeline project is the first to be designated a project in the national interest under the Building Canada Act. The designation allows the federal government to streamline th...
6h ago
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Health ministers say Ottawa needs to renew mental health, home care funding
OTTAWA - Health ministers from across the country say they're worried about "profound and negative" effects on patients and health-care jobs if federal funding agreements for mental health, addictions and home care are not renewed in this year's budget...
7h ago
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A timeline for Pacific Link, the 'national interest' Alberta-B.C. pipeline plan
CALGARY - A new million-barrel-per-day oilsands pipeline to the West Coast is the first to be deemed a project of national interest - a key step if the proposal is to advance. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the ...
7h ago
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Indigenous groups given just two months to consult on pipeline project designation
OTTAWA - Indigenous communities along the route for the newly announced West Coast oil pipeline were given just two months for consultations on whether the pipeline should be designated a project of national interest - and that was still more than the ...
8h ago
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How has medical understanding of 'shaken baby syndrome' evolved?
TORONTO - An Ontario mother's acquittal in the death of her infant son is the latest display of medical evidence of shaken baby syndrome discredited in the courtroom. Jennifer Gaskin had been convicted of manslaughter in the death of her 2 1/2-month-ol...
9h ago
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