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Nanaimo, BC

Nanaimo
City
City of Nanaimo
Nanaimo
Nanaimo
Flag of Nanaimo
Flag
Coat of arms of Nanaimo
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Hub City, The Harbour City
Nanaimo is located in British Columbia
Nanaimo
Nanaimo
Location of Nanaimo in British Columbia
Coordinates: 49°09′51″N 123°56′11″W / 49.16417°N 123.93639°W / 49.16417; -123.93639
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Regional District Nanaimo
Incorporated 1874
Government
 • Type Elected city council
 • Mayor Bill McKay
 • Governing body Nanaimo City Council
 • MPs Sheila Malcolmson (NDP)
 • MLAs

Leonard Krog (BC NDP)

Michelle Stilwell (BC Liberals)
Doug Routley (BC NDP)
Area
 • City 91.30 km2 (35.25 sq mi)
 • Metro 1,280.84 km2 (494.54 sq mi)
Elevation 28 m (92 ft)
Population (2016)
 • City 90,504 (ranked 62nd)
 • Density 918.0/km2 (2,378/sq mi)
 • Urban 88,799
 • Metro 104,936 (ranked 35th)
 • Metro density 76.5/km2 (198/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC−8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC−7)
Postal code span V9R to V9V
Area code(s) +1-250
Website http://www.nanaimo.ca

Leonard Krog (BC NDP)

Nanaimo /nəˈnm/ (Canada 2016 Census population 90,504) is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is known as "The Harbour City." The City was previously known as the "Hub City" which has been attributed to its original layout design where the streets radiated out from the shoreline like the spokes of a wagon wheel as well as its generally centralized location on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is also the headquarters of the Regional District of Nanaimo.

The Native people of the area that is now known as Nanaimo are the Snuneymuxw. A westernized spelling and pronunciation of that word gave the city its current name.

The first Europeans to find Nanaimo Bay were those of the 1791 Spanish voyage of Juan Carrasco, under the command of Francisco de Eliza. They gave it the name Bocas de Winthuysen.

Nanaimo began as a trading post in the early 19th century. In 1849 the Snuneymuxw chief Ki-et-sa-kun ("Coal Tyee") informed the Hudson's Bay Company of coal in the area. Exploration proved there was plenty of it in the area and Nanaimo became chiefly known for the export of coal. In 1853 the company built a Nanaimo Bastion, which has been preserved and is a popular tourist destination in the downtown area.

Hudson's Bay Company employee Robert Dunsmuir helped establish coal mines in the Nanaimo harbour area and later mined in Nanaimo as one of the first independent miners. In 1869 Dunsmuir discovered coal several miles North of Nanaimo at Wellington, and subsequently created the company Dunsmuir and Diggle Ltd so he could acquire crown land and finance the startup of what became the Wellington Colliery. With the success of Dunsmuir and Diggle and the Wellington Colliery, Dunsmuir expanded his operations to include steam railways. Dunsmuir sold Wellington Coal through its Departure Bay docks, while competing Nanaimo coal was sold by the London-based Vancouver Coal Company through the Nanaimo docks.


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