Eighty-eight-year-old Lorne Collie has been making musical instruments for more than three decades, creations that dazzle for their unique materials as much as their sound. There's a hefty bass guitar and a cello made of moose antlers, a baseball bat violin, ukuleles made of cookie tins, and guitars fashioned from pitc...

The mayor of the suburban Victoria community of Colwood says he's getting calls from municipal leaders across Canada who have heard about his community's "out-of-the-box" plan to recruit family doctors as city workers. Mayor Doug Kobayashi announced this week that Colwood has hired its first family doctor for...

VICTORIA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the appointment of longtime businesswoman and philanthropist Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia as British Columbia's 31st lieutenant-governor. Trudeau says in a statement that Lisogar-Cocchia is a respected entrepreneur in the hospitality industry and a dedicated community lea...

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is calling on the provincial and federal governments to review medically-assisted dying legislation to ensure proper safeguards are in place. The association's executive director Liza Hughes says in a statement that it's aware of "concerning reports"...

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced a woman with an extensive criminal history of impersonating nurses in several provinces to four years in prison, tacking on more time to a sentence she is already serving in Ontario. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes says the prospects of rehabilitat...

VICTORIA - Former B.C. premier Glen Clark is returning to the public eye, two years after leaving his high-profile position as president of Jim Pattison Group. The provincial government has announced that Clark has been appointed to chair BC Hydro's board of directors, taking over for Lori Wanamaker, whose term ends on...

VICTORIA - The British Columbia government has repealed a law it passed last year to restrict drug use in some public areas because successful court challenges prevented it from being brought into force. Garry Begg, B.C.'s solicitor general and public safety minister, says in a statement the government has revoked the ...

WHITE ROCK, B.C. - A landslide that blocked railway tracks has stopped Amtrak passenger service between Vancouver and Seattle. Amtrak says in a statement Thursday that the landslide near White Rock, B.C., led Burlington Northern Santa Fa Railway to place a 48-hour moratorium on passenger service. It's unclear how exten...

VANCOUVER - The family of a 52-year-old man who received medical assistance in dying while on a day pass from a Vancouver psychiatric hospital has launched a constitutional challenge to the procedure's legal framework. The notice of civil claim filed Friday at the B.C. Supreme Court says the businessman and father of t...

A former Hells Angels clubhouse that was seized by the British Columbia government in 2023 after years of fighting in court has been sold to the City of Kelowna. A statement from Public Safety Minister Garry Begg says the sale of the home in Kelowna includes a "right of entry," which means the province's civi...

VANCOUVER - "Deadpool" actor Ryan Reynolds thanked the country after he was named as an officer of the Order of Canada, saying the nation shaped and continues to inspire him. In a short statement, the B.C. native and movie superstar told Canada he was "yours forever - just a bit more officery now" a...

VANCOUVER - The president of the Vancouver Police Union has criticized the handling of a sexual assault case that ended in the suicide of a Central Saanich Police officer. Ralph Kaisers says in a letter to members that was obtained by The Canadian Press that the "tragic loss" of the officer came after public ...

VANCOUVER - Health officials in British Columbia say at least 64 people have become sick after eating raw oysters from restaurants and retail locations. A statement from the BC Centre for Disease Control and the provincial health authority says the "norovirus-like" gastrointestinal illnesses have been reporte...

VANCOUVER - Winds approaching 140 km/h have been hitting Vancouver Island weather stations after Environment Canada issued the latest in a series of wind warnings for the B.C. coast. It says the warnings cover exposed coastal sections of the island's north and B.C.'s central coast, with a Pacific frontal system approac...

When the organizer of the We Unify Reclaiming Canada event contacted officials about booking the Victoria Conference Centre, he touted invitees from across the political spectrum, including liberal luminaries such as Amal Clooney, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C.'s NDP Premier David Eby, movie stars and more. Jonath...

SHAWNIGAN LAKE, B.C. - Several British Columbia media reports say one of two Central Saanich Police officers charged with sexual assaulting a woman they met on duty has died by suicide. The Times Colonist cites four sources saying 43-year-old Sgt. Matthew Ball has died, while other outlets cite police sources saying Ba...

DELTA, B.C. - Police in Delta, B.C., say a woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to drive a car carrying two young children into the Fraser River last month. Delta police say officers had responded to an incident on Nov. 29 on River Road where they found a car stuck on the foreshore of the...

VANCOUVER - The Business Council of British Columbia has launched an awareness campaign to counter the province's rising outward migration to Alberta. The business advocacy group says its "Stay with B.C." campaign is placing advertisements on billboards and transit stops, as well as online, in cities such as ...

VANCOUVER - Metro Vancouver's projected population growth is accelerating, with an average of 50,000 new residents expected per year. That's 40 per cent higher than the previous projection under a "medium growth scenario," and Metro Vancouver now says it expects the regional district's population to hit four ...

VANCOUVER - Environment Canada says a moisture-laden Pacific front weather system that pelted coastal regions with rain on Tuesday will bring snow to parts of the southern B.C. Interior. The weather office says between 15 and 20 cm is expected over most of region today, while higher elevations may get up to 30 cm of sn...

OTTAWA - Governor General Mary Simon has made 88 new appointments to the Order of Canada. Here is the list of notable Canadians: Companion Pierre Boivin - Montreal (This is a promotion within the order.) Officers Stephen Aaron Arshinoff - Toronto Sylvia Beth Bashevkin - Toronto Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta - Toronto Ronald Fr...

TSAWWASSEN, B.C. - A British Columbia ferry had to be diverted to rescue a person clinging to their overturned boat near a ferry terminal on Monday. BC Ferries says the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria notified it around 12:30 p.m., asking for help to rescue a boater in the water near the Tsawwassen Ferry T...

VANCOUVER - Vancouver police say two Central Saanich Police officers have been charged with sexual assault after an investigation into alleged unlawful sexual contact with a woman they met while on duty. Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson says the investigation was launched on Oct. 28 by the Vancouver department at the request ...

British Columbia's forecasted record deficit for this fiscal year has grown by another $429 million, reaching $9.4 billion. The province unveiled the latest quarterly update, the first under new Finance Minister Brenda Bailey, showing B.C.'s debt level to reach $130 billion by the fiscal year's end, which is $1.4 billi...

VANCOUVER - Another storm is rolling off the Pacific, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to British Columbia's coast and a blanket of snow to the Interior. It comes as the search continues for a person missing when their home was caught by a mudslide that also rolled over the Sea to Sky Highway near Lions Bay during ...

NANAIMO, B.C. - An eight-year-old boy is in hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a vehicle in Nanaimo, B.C. RCMP say it happened in a school parking lot just before eight on Tuesday morning. The Montessori school where the crash happened is located on Jingle Pot Road. Police, fire and B.C. Emergency Health...

LANGLEY, B.C. - Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is hailing a decisive British Columbia byelection victory in Cloverdale-Langley City, where Tamara Jansen has won with about two-thirds of the vote. Monday's byelection in the Fraser Valley seat, which had been held by the Liberals and is traditionally closel...

VICTORIA - A rare and historic water bomber that was on its final journey from British Columbia to a museum in Arizona was forced to make an emergency landing near Victoria due to mechanical issues. The Victoria Airport Authority confirmed the Philippine Mars, one of two remaining aircraft of its kind, had to land at t...