Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

more arrivals
First cruise ship of 2025 arrives in Nanaimo
NANAIMO - Cruise season has officially begun in the Harbour City.The Europa 2, operated by German-based Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, docked in Nanaimo on Monday, April 21, where around 500 passengers prepared to disembark for adventures around central Vancouver Island.It docked near downtown Nanaimo shortly after 7 a.m. with t...
Apr 21, 2025
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light show
Wildcard meteor showers could put on a show
NANAIMO - While it's not a headliner by meteor shower standards, devoted stargazers will be looking upward this week. The peak of the annual Lyrid meteor shower takes place overnight on Monday and Tuesday, April 21/ 22, according to Vancouver Island University Astronomy professor Dr. Gregory Arkos. One of the oldest kn...
Apr 21, 2025
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pontiff passes
Pope Francis's memory looms large for Canadians attending Easter Monday mass
TORONTO - Pope Francis is being remembered by Canadian Catholics as a progressive leader whose approach to the papacy helped usher in a new era of Indigenous relations and make the church more responsive to its rank and file. Catholics, many of whom ha...
Apr 21, 2025
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fierce competition
Nanaimo table tennis tournament debuts in Harbour City
NANAIMO - For the first time in recent memory, a high level table tennis tournament came to the Harbour City.Around 70 players contested three different divisions at Randerson Elementary School on Saturday, April 19, with players from across Nanaimo, Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland participating.Co-organizer Er...
Apr 20, 2025
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not the right direction
'Finding a happy medium:' Nanaimo residents call on Council to reconsider Loudon Park project
NANAIMO - Around 150 people gathered at Loudon Park on Saturday to make a clear and simple request of City Councillors: reconsider your decision about the park's future. Council voted 5-4 in favour in early April for an expansive development to include a 10,000 square foot boat storage building, washroom and community ...
Apr 19, 2025
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local Japanese heritage
'Very significant part of our history:' Japanese-Canadian society requests financial boost from City
NANAIMO - Additional funding is being provided to make the legacy of Japanese-Canadians visible on the mid-Island, spearheaded by an ambitious non-profit group based out of Nanaimo.The Central Vancouver Island Japanese Canadian Society, known as 7 Potatoes, asked for over $741,000 in funding to finish off a pair of loc...
Apr 19, 2025
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British Columbia

'I won't be the last': Tréchelle Bunn elected as first female chief of Dakota nation
WINNIPEG - Tréchelle Bunn has had a whirlwind month. She wrapped up her two-year tenure as one of the Southern Chiefs' Organization youth chiefs, finished her second year of law school at the University of Manitoba and received an Indspire award for her work in Indigenous communities at a ceremony in Vancouver. ...
8h ago
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Tugboat brings in B.C. ferry after mechanical failure on busy Easter weekend
NORTH VANCOUVER - A BC Ferries vessel had to be assisted into Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver by a tugboat after suffering a mechanical failure at the end of the busy holiday weekend. The company says the problem with the Queen of Coquitlam's pitch control has been repaired and testing was conducted before a possible ...
16h ago
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alternative approach
Vancouver Island city-owned clinic on track to sign two more doctors, mayor says
COLWOOD - The mayor of a Vancouver Island community hiring doctors as city employees says it is "very close" to signing two more physicians for its clinic even as other communities inquire about replicating its model. Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi says the city's clinic currently has one doctor on staff, anoth...
17h ago
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Police identify Tyler Smith as homicide victim found in burned home in Langley, B.C.
LANGLEY - British Columbia's Homicide Investigation Team is identifying the person who was found dead inside a burned Langley home hoping to further its investigation. It says the death of 47-year-old Tyler Smith has been confirmed as a homicide, adding that he had recently moved to the area. Langley RCMP previously sa...
19h ago
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Advance polls open for last day as election campaign heads into final week
OTTAWA - Canadians hoping to vote early in the upcoming federal election have until the end of the day to visit an advance polling station as the campaign enters its final week. Today is the fourth and final day that advance polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. before the general election date of April 28. And unti...
Apr 21, 2025
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Police say two people airlifted to hospital after 'serious' crash in Abbotsford, B.C.
ABBOTSFORD - Police in British Columbia's Lower Mainland say two people were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries Sunday after a crash involving two vehicles. Abbotsford Police say emergency workers who responded to the crash at about 7:28 a.m. and found a Dodge Charger and a BMW sedan with "signif...
Apr 20, 2025
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Canada

In the news today: Vatican announces pope's funeral for Saturday
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed... Vatican announces pope's funeral for Saturday The Vatican has announced a funeral for Pope Francis will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square. That...
8h ago
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Tories expected to release platform as federal election campaign nears its end
OTTAWA - As the federal election campaign nears its end with less than a week to go before voting day, all federal party leaders are making their last pitches to Canadians on why they deserve their vote. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is expected...
8h ago
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Archbishops of Toronto, Montreal to hold mass for Pope Francis
TORONTO - Canada's newest cardinal will lead a mass in honour of Pope Francis this afternoon. Cardinal Frank Leo, Archbishop of Toronto, will preside at a mass for the repose of the soul of the pontiff at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica before meeting...
8h ago
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'Keep the doors open': Ministers call on next pope to do more for LGBTQ+ people
Serge Quevillon made it a point Monday to visit Montreal's Mary Queen of the World Cathedral to pay respect to Pope Francis. Speaking outside the cathedral, he said he vividly remembers a question the pope was asked in June 2013. "He was asked, 'What d...
8h ago
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Jury selection set to start in former world junior hockey players' sex assault trial
LONDON - Jury selection is expected to begin today in the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team. Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault early la...
8h ago
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'Man of compassion:' Indigenous leaders, residential school survivors on Pope Francis
It's been nearly three years since Pope Francis travelled to Canada to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools. But for some Indigenous survivors, memories of the historic day remain fresh in their minds. "His statements of apo...
17h ago
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