Sointula, British Columbia
| Sointula | |
|---|---|
 Sointula
|
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| Coordinates: 50°37′50″N 127°01′07″W / 50.63056°N 127.01861°WCoordinates: 50°37′50″N 127°01′07″W / 50.63056°N 127.01861°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
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| Province |
 British Columbia
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| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 576 |
| Time zone | Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8) |
| Area code(s) | 250 |
| Climate | Cfb |
Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present territory of the ‘Namgis First Nation. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 576, down 3.0% from the 2006 census.
The name Sointula means "Place of Harmony" (literally 'the place of chord') in the Finnish language. A group of Finnish settlers founded the village in 1901 after rowing north from Nanaimo. They planned to set up a utopian socialist society known as the Kalevan Kansa, and wrote to visionary Matti Kurikka in Finland to lead the new community. They were looking for a way out of the mines operated by Robert Dunsmuir in Nanaimo. It was a physically hard life and a devastating fire in 1903, that killed three adults and eight children, almost brought the fledgling community to its knees. Financial difficulties continued to plague the group. After they worked for free for two years on the Capilano Bridge project, the Kalevan Kansa was disbanded. Many of the community members remained on the island, as have their descendants. John Phelps was briefly considered for the position of emperor during a briefly contemplated secession movement in the 1990s. The idea, which was fomented at a pub one night, turned out to be infeasible and the separation movement was later abandoned.
The town remained and prospered well into the 1970s as an unusually vibrant resource-based settlement. Fishing and logging activities have been the mainstay for the community. The early cooperative ventures led to other businesses that are still operating, planting seeds that are also alive today. The Sointula Cooperative Store, the oldest co-op shop in the province, still handles drygoods, groceries and fuel for the islanders. In addition there is a cooperative bakery, Wild Island Foods, which served Finnish bread (pulla) and home-cooked meals until the summer of 2008. The shellfish cooperative, Malcolm Island Shellfish Coop (MISC), was involved in research on the feasibility of raising and selling abalone, but closed for financial reasons in 2006. It relocated the abalone to an area near Port McNeill donated by Orca Sand and Gravel.
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