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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

NANAIMO - Illuminating the impact military service members with ties to Nanaimo is now a central feature in the city's downtown. Dozens of street banners were installed recently in the Front St. and Church St. areas, representing a highly visible collaboration between Royal Canadian Legion branches 256 and 10 in Nanaim...

PARKSVILLE - In a bid to improve healthcare outcomes and availability for those on the mid-Island, the BC NDP are looking to expand clinic availability. Announced Saturday, Oct. 17, the party has promised the development of a new Urgent and Primary Care Clinic (UPCC) in the Parksville-Qualicum Beach region if re-electe...

NANAIMO - More people took the time to cast a ballot in Saturday's municipal election than did four years ago.Following a dismal 23.93 per cent voter turnout in the City of Nanaimo for the 2022 election, roughly 31.63 per cent showed up on Saturday, Oct. 17, through two days of advance voting, or used mail-in ballots.E...

NANAIMO - Making the challenging trek up Mount Benson is about to get a little easier and safer. Crews recently began repairing 900 meters of eroded, uneven trail beyond the halfway point up the iconic hike above the Witchcraft Lake trailhead. Rick Daykin, Regional District of Nanaimo's manager of parks services, said ...

NANAIMO - Customers using the Hullo Ferry now have more ways to access the passenger-only service if they live north of Nanaimo. Hullo recently announced they partnered with IslandLink Bus Service to provide two daily one-way bus routes, bringing people directly to or from the Nanaimo terminal at 100 Port Way. Already ...

NANAIMO - Leonard Krog has been re-elected as Nanaimo's Mayor for a third term.Preliminary results announced by the City of Nanaimo's Chief Election Officer Sheila Gurrie on Saturday, Oct. 17, confirmed Krog was elected Mayor to a four-year term with 10,368 votes.He withstood challenges from Sarah Lovegrove (8,461 vote...

PARKSVILLE - Current city councillor Mary Beil will move to the head of the table in the coming weeks.Preliminary results announced by the City on Saturday, Oct. 17, confirmed Beil was elected as Parksville's new Mayor after serving the current term as a councillor, earning 2,401 votes.Beil beat out current City Counci...

NANAIMO - Welcome to our live coverage of the 2026 Municipal Election. Our team is covering the entire mid-Island, and will have full results and reactions both on air through our partner radio stations (106.9 The Wolf, 102.3 The Wave, 88.5 The Beach and The Lounge 99.9), and here on NanaimoNewsNOW. Follow our live blo...

NANAIMO - It's general voting day for the 2026 Municipal Election. Eligible voters can select their choice for new Mayors, Councillors, School Board Trustees and/or Regional District Directors at a variety of polling locations across the region, with a full list below. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. NanaimoNewsNO...

NANAIMO - Police are looking for a man who no-showed for court in response to a serious stabbing iin Nanaimo's north end, resulting in an aggravated assault charge.A Nanaimo RCMP stated Shane Edward Steinhauer, 50, is accused of stabbing another person in north Nanaimo during an evening altercation on Friday, Oct. 9.&q...

NANAIMO - Back for its sixth year, a local Halloween haunted house continues growing and attracting more visitors.Steve and Penny Jones have again opened the front yard of their Tulsa Rd. home, off Meredith Rd., to Halloween enthusiasts with an extensive, immersive, and interactive display featuring a range of lights, ...

UPDATE - Nanaimo RCMP completed its investigation following a recent incident in which an unknown male approached two teenage girls, sending the females to a north Nanaimo home for help. Police state the male involved in an Oct. 15 incident identified himself to police and fully cooperated with investigators, leading p...

NANAIMO - Avid sky watchers could spot something unusual Friday. Air Canada has announced they will be filming promotional content for their new Airbus A321XLR plane above Vancouver Island, Vancouver International Airport and the Lower Mainland on Friday, Oct. 16. A specific flight path was not made public, however the...

NANAIMO - Twenty-four hours before voters head to the polls to elect new local representatives, advance voting for provincial positions has opened. A six-day advance voting period opens Friday, Oct. 16, through Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, ahead of general election day on Saturday, Oct. 24. Unlik...

PARKSVILLE - A busy north-south Parksville collector road will be resurfaced, as well as amenities added for non-vehicular users. The City of Parksville expects crews to begin revitalizing Stanford Ave. E between McCarter St. and Shelly Rd. from late this month with an expected substantial completion of late next summe...

NANAIMO - Local police are trying to identify a man who allegedly grabbed and inappropriately touched a woman prior to the suspect boarding a bus.The incident unfolded on Sept. 17 at around 3:30 p.m. when the woman told police she was walking in Nanaimo's downtown, near the Front St. bus exchange Reserve Cst. Gary O'Br...

NANAIMO - Toxic drug deaths in B.C. in July and August have fallen to their lowest levels in those months since before the pandemic. Data from the BC Coroners Service shows that 113 people died in July, and 126 people in August, with those figures down 50 per cent and 40 per cent from their respective peaks in 2023. In...

NANAIMO - While timing was a major factor, it appears poll workers were busy during advance voting opportunities for this year's municipal election. A pair of opportunities on back-to-back Wednesdays, Oct. 7 and Oct. 14, saw thousands cast their ballot for new Mayor, Council, Regional District and School Board candidat...

NANAIMO - Local Mounties arrested a 15-year-old youth after they allegedly used bear spray against a fellow student at Wellington Secondary School. The incident unfolded just after noon on Wednesday, Oct. 14, and involved what police are saying was a dispute between the alleged attacker and a similarly-aged victim. Res...

LANTZVILLE - A long-standing mid-Island tradition of an official Halloween fireworks won't be happening for the foreseeable future. The Lantzville Volunteer Firefighters Association announced on social media on Monday, Oct. 12, their annual fireworks display on Oct. 31 won't be taking place this year, officially puttin...

NANAIMO - When Aiden David Tye implodes, society repeatedly pays the price. The 41-year-old Tye was back in a familiar place last week at Nanaimo Law Courts, before a judge for an alarming meltdown on Jan 14, 2026, at Javawocky Coffee House on Nanaimo's waterfront. After being banned from the property, Tye threw severa...

NANAIMO - Drop, cover, and hold!Many workplaces, schools, and organized group settings are taking part in the annual Great BC Shakeout drill, featuring alerts sent out to many television and radio stations on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10:15 a.m.In addition, local governments, including the City of Nanaimo, are sending direc...

NANAIMO - Candidates looking to represent the local area in the Legislature in Victoria were under the microscope Tuesday evening.Six of the seven candidates running in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island and Nanaimo-Lantzville attended an all-candidates forum at the Nanaimo Golf Club on Tuesday, Oct. 13, an event put on by the Na...