LOCAL NEWS, DELIVERED DAILY. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get the top stories sent straight to your inbox every evening.

Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

drop a line
Thousands of catchable trout piped into Nanaimo area lakes
NANAIMO - Prime lake fishing season has arrived. Thousands of rainbow trout are being delivered into urban lakes across mid Vancouver Island this week, part of an annual Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. campaign throughout the province. All three Colliery dams, Diver, Green and Brannen lakes received a combined 4,0...
Mar 12, 2025
Read More
mountain snow
Island snowpack levels holding steady, still below normal
NANAIMO - Cooler weather and a few rounds of precipitation in coastal areas were enough to keep B.C.'s snowpack level for March consistent with the previous month. The March 1 snow survey and water supply bulletin provided by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship shows Vancouver Island snowpack levels at...
Mar 11, 2025
Read More
HEALTHCARE WORKERS
B.C. takes advantage of U.S. 'chaos,' trade war to attract more doctors and nurses
British Columbia's health minister says "now is the time" for American doctors and nurses to move to the province as it fast tracks recognition of their credentials during an escalating trade war between Canada and the United States. Josie Osborne says the "chaos" happening south of the border is an...
Mar 11, 2025
Read More
trade war
UPDATE: Tariff doubling dropped after Ontario pauses surcharges on electricity exports
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump says he will double the tariff on steel and aluminum imports coming from Canada in response to Ontario's surcharge on electricity it exports to the United States. Trump says 50 per cent tariffs will be placed on...
Mar 11, 2025
Read More
interface fires
'Quick, efficient and safe:' wildfire suppression skills sharpened in Nanaimo
NANAIMO - Worrying about wildfires encroaching on communities on Vancouver Island is no longer a distant concern. With ample evidence showing interface fires are an increasing threat in the province, regional fire crews received online training, as well as day-long field exercises under the watch of BC Wildfire Service...
Mar 11, 2025
Read More
pushing back
B.C. expands alcohol ban in its liquor stores to all U.S. booze
American beer, wine and all other alcohol is being removed from government stores in British Columbia in retaliation for U.S. tariffs, expanding a ban on liquor from so-called red states that voted for U.S. President Donald Trump. Premier David Eby said the widening of the ban to cover all alcohol, regardless of its st...
Mar 10, 2025
Read More

British Columbia

Trump family fortune began in a Canadian brothel-hotel
In one of history's little-known ironies, the Maple Leaf country pushing back against Donald Trump's annexation bid is also host to a tiny, remote restaurant and brothel that helped launch the U.S. president's family fortune more than 100 years ago. To find it, look west. Way west. On a quiet, remote trail in British C...
6h ago
Read More
RCMP, Crime Stoppers start awareness campaign over spiked drinks in Nanaimo, B.C.
NANAIMO, B.C. - Police in Nanaimo, B.C., say they're spearheading a public awareness campaign with local bar owners and Crime Stoppers over "several reports" of drinks being drugged at local nightclubs in recent months. Police say people have reported having a drink and immediately having trouble breathing an...
14h ago
Read More
B.C. doctors get new guidance on involuntary care for people who use drugs
VICTORIA - British Columbia clinicians have received new guidance about involuntary care for people who use drugs, which includes physicians being told it can't be used to prevent harmful "risk-taking" by someone who isn't impaired by a mental disorder. The guidance from Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.'s first chief sc...
14h ago
Read More
'Several critical safety failures' behind B.C. workers death, WorkSafeBC says
RICHMOND, B.C. - WorkSafeBC says a worker killed in Vancouver last year when a mould used for concrete fell 26 storeys should never have been able to stand where she was. The report released by the province's worker safety agency says "several critical safety failures" are to blame for the death of the woman ...
16h ago
Read More
YouTuber sues B.C. conservation officer, government over alleged profit losses
VANCOUVER - A YouTube hunting personality is suing British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service alleging one of its officers defamed and targeted him in a "malicious, obsessive and compulsive fashion," allegedly causing him to lose sponsorship deals. The B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit says it started in May 20...
16h ago
Read More
confidence agreement
B.C.'s New Democrat government and Greens finalize confidence agreement
VICTORIA - British Columbia's NDP government and the provincial Green Party caucus have signed an agreement that consolidates the New Democrats' hold on the provincial legislature where they have a one-seat majority. A statement from the NDP caucus says the final deal includes "additional commitment" to consu...
17h ago
Read More

Canada

Tools, electronics, sports equipment from the U.S. hit with Canadian counter tariffs
OTTAWA - If you're looking for a new set of golf clubs for the upcoming season, they may be 25 per cent more expensive due to Canada's counter tariffs against the U.S. steel and aluminum surcharge. Matching 25 tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of America...
59m ago
Read More
Media outlets start receiving Google payments from Online News Act: journalism group
Money has started to flow to Canadian news outlets from the $100 million Google agreed to pay them in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act, the organization administering the fund said. The Canadian Journalism Collective announced Thursda...
1h ago
Read More
'Get ready for a wild ride': Weather Network issues Canada's spring forecast
Canada's recent flirtation with balmy temperatures will give way to spring's characteristically volatile weather, the Weather Network's chief meteorologist said, with a new seasonal forecast suggesting winter may still deliver some parting punches. Sp...
4h ago
Read More
In the news today: Tariff talks in Washington and G7 foreign ministers in Quebec
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed... Ministers, premier to meet with Lutnick in D.C. Canadian officials are set to meet with the U.S. commerce secretary in Washington today - days after a dust-up wit...
5h ago
Read More
New poll suggests 40% of Canadians fear losing their jobs due to Trump's tariffs
OTTAWA - A new poll suggests that 40 per cent of Canadians are worried about losing their jobs as many businesses scale back hiring plans in response to the trade war with the United States. The Leger poll, which sampled more than 1,500 Canadian adults...
6h ago
Read More
G7 foreign ministers start talks in Quebec, as Joly pushes back on U.S. coercion
LA MALBAIE, Que. - A major foreign-policy summit is underway in Quebec today, with the Liberals welcoming foreign ministers from the U.S., Europe and Japan. The Group of Seven ministerial meeting is taking place in the Charlevoix region, just as Canad...
6h ago
Read More