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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

Kicking It
VIU soccer teams hit the pitch for 2026 PACWEST season
NANAIMO - The VIU Mariners are beginning a new PACWEST soccer season with differing expectations.The women will attempt to win the provincial championship for a third straight time, while the men are hoping to rise up the table after finishing 2-7-3 in 2025.Women's coach Bobbie Taylor said her group will have a strong ...
Sep 12, 2026
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names on the ballot
Candidate nomination period closes for 2026 Municipal Elections
NANAIMO - The opportunity has passed for those seeking to run for Mayoral, Council or Board seats next month, while some decisions have already been made ahead of the vote. The formal nomination period for the 2026 Municipal Election closed at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, with information collected from prospective cand...
Sep 11, 2026
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Community pride
Lantzville's Minetown Day highlights immense community pride
LANTZVILLE - Home to about 4,000, Minetown Day resembles an event beyond Lantzville's ability to pull off.However, with longstanding and widespread community support from numerous sources, Minetown Day is flourishing over 50 years after the community celebration was founded."We partner with amazing groups that put...
Sep 11, 2026
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sentenced
Former Nanaimo Mountie sentenced for using police status for sexual gain
NANAIMO - A judge ruled a former Nanaimo RCMP officer who pleaded guilty to breach of trust by a public officer, was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the time. Provincial court judge Reginald Harris handed a conditional discharge to Cst. Mark Tyler Hilland, 47, during his decision on Friday, Sept...
Sep 11, 2026
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double break-in
Male suspect sought in back-to-back Nanaimo Tim Hortons break-ins
NANAIMO - Mounties are looking for a male suspect following two overnight break-ins at a pair of Nanaimo Tim Hortons locations, with the same man suspected in both incidents.RCMP say shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 8., someone broke into the Tim Hortons near the Brooks Landing Shopping Centre by prying open th...
Sep 11, 2026
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winter shelter
Planned Parksville seasonal shelter receives key endorsement
PARKSVILLE - Planning is heating up for a cold-weather, dry, seasonal shelter in Parksville.Parksville City Council voted unanimously for an empty lot behind 632 Pioneer Cres. at Parksville's south end as a preferred location for a 10-bed shelter by way of a temporary use permit. The applicant, Shayla Day, chair of Oc...
Sep 11, 2026
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British Columbia

Milobar's new party gains seventh B.C. legislator as Donegal Wilson joins
VICTORIA - The new party led by former B.C. Conservative legislator Peter Milobar has gained a seventh MLA as a member, Boundary-Similkameen's Donegal Wilson. All are among the nine MLAs who have defected from the provincial Conservative caucus in rece...
2h ago
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Home sales in B.C. down again in August amid 'gradual recovery,' association says
VANCOUVER - British Columbia home sales fell again in August on a year-to-year basis, although the real estate industry says a "gradual recovery" is underway. The British Columbia Real Estate Association says there were 5,653 residential property sales...
2h ago
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Indigenous legislation among top issues at Union of B.C. Municipalities convention
An annual gathering of municipal leaders from across British Columbia is underway with the province's Indigenous rights legislation high on the agenda, along with housing and public safety, among other topics. The Union of B.C. Municipalities conventio...
10h ago
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Two pulled from water near B.C. Lower Mainland after fishing vessel sinks
DELTA, B.C. - British Columbia's ferry operator says two people were pulled from the waters between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island after their fishing vessel sank. BC Ferries spokesperson Sheila Reynolds says the marine rescue happened Sunday ...
14h ago
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Student's door-to-door Chinese ballads break down barriers, win fans and lamb chops
When Kieran Michael MacNeill started going door to door in Richmond, B.C., serenading householders in Mandarin, he was worried they might think he was a "weirdo." But instead, they embraced the efforts of the 22-year-old student, who spent summer singi...
Sep 12, 2026
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Man faces 22 charges over four shootings in Surrey, B.C., in 2025 and 2026
SURREY - Police in Surrey, B.C., say a man is facing numerous charges after four shootings in the Metro Vancouver city, including three shots-fired incidents at the same home. The shootings at the home on 140A Street happened last December, with an ass...
Sep 11, 2026
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Canada

StatCan says Canada's 2026 census participation was among highest ever
OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the response rate for this year's census of the population was 98.4 per cent, one of the highest ever recorded. The data is collected every five years and the questionnaire includes age, gender, marital status and langu...
1h ago
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Carney's investment summit draws protests by Indigenous leaders, eco groups
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney's high-stakes pitch for foreign investment is also attracting protests by Indigenous leaders and civil society groups opposed to his agenda. Hundreds of executives and global asset managers descended on Toronto on Mo...
2h ago
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Quebec party leaders are preparing for two debates this week in election campaign
MONTREAL - Quebec party leaders are preparing for two debates this week in the provincial election campaign. The first debate is scheduled on Tuesday evening and will feature all five party leaders. Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette a...
2h ago
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Ottawa says it ended refugee residency sponsor exemption over 'integrity concerns'
OTTAWA - A permanent residency sponsorship exemption for some refugees was allowed to expire earlier this month due to unspecified "potential integrity concerns," an Immigration Department spokesperson said in an email. Three years ago, a memo drafted ...
4h ago
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Here's a list of August inflation rates for selected Canadian cities
OTTAWA - Canada's annual inflation rate was 3.0 per cent in August, Statistics Canada says. The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may have fluctuated widely because they are based on small statistical samples (prev...
5h ago
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Here's a list of August inflation rates for Canadian provinces
OTTAWA - Canada's annual inflation rate was 3.0 per cent in August, Statistics Canada says. Here's what happened in the provinces (previous month in brackets): - Newfoundland and Labrador: 4.3 per cent (4.2) - Prince Edward Island: 4.4 per cent (4.0) -...
5h ago
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