Nanaimo BC Canada 2026

Nanaimo is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. The city lies on the western shores of the eponymous Nanaimo harbour, for which it has become known as the "Harbour City". The city is also called the "Hub City", which is attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating from the shoreline like the spokes of a wagon wheel, and to its relatively central location on Vancouver Island. Nanaimo is the headquarters of the Regional District of Nanaimo and is served by the Island Highway that runs along the east coast of Vancouver Island, the BC Ferries system, and the city's regional airport. It is also on the dormant Island Rail Corridor. The Indigenous peoples of the area that is now known as Nanaimo are the Snuneymuxw. An anglicized spelling and pronunciation of that word gave the city its current name. The first Europeans known to reach Nanaimo Harbour were members of the 1791 Spanish voyage of Juan Carrasco, under the command of Francisco de Eliza. They gave it the name Bocas de Winthuysen after naval officer Francisco Javier Winthuysen y Pineda. When the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established a settlement here in 1852, they named it Colvile Town after HBC governor Andrew Colvile. In 1858 it was renamed as Nanaimo, after the local indigenous people. The city has been called "The Harbour City" since the lead-up to Expo 86.