Port McNeill, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with a population of 2,623 (2006). Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait
Queen Charlotte Strait
Queen Charlotte Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It connects Queen Charlotte Sound with Johnstone Strait, Discovery Passage and then to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound...
, it was originally a base camp for loggers, Port McNeill became a settlement in 1936. The town was named after Captain William Henry McNeill
William Henry McNeill
William Henry McNeill was best known for his 1830 expedition as the captain of the brig Llama, which sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 12,000 miles around Cape Horn, to the Pacific Northwest on a fur trading expedition.Boston merchants owned the brig whose cargo consisted of...
of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
.
Services and amenities
Public services offered include a Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) detachment, ambulance service, volunteer fire department and a district hospital that services Port McNeill, Sointula and Alert Bay.
The town also offers amenities including:
- two grocery stores (IGAIGA (supermarkets)IGA is a brand of grocery stores active in more than 30 countries. Contrasting with the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small town markets and belong to families that manage them...
& SuperValuSuperValu (Canada)Super Valu is a chain of franchised and associated grocery stores in Canada that operates primarily in the western part of the country. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, many Super Valu stores were created from former Loblaws stores...
) - three liquor stores
- six restaurants
- three bars/pubs
- three motels and B&Bs, and the Black Bear Resort & Spa
- two hardware stores
- a Windsor Plywood store
- a Petro-CanadaPetro-CanadaPetro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...
gas station and EssoEssoEsso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
gas station - a SubwaySubway (restaurant)Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
restaurant, - FieldsFields (department store)Fields is a brand of Canadian discount stores owned by Hudson's Bay Company, with 165 locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Yukon, and Northwest Territories.- History :...
- The Bargain! Shop
- Few other small tourist shops
- In 2008 Port McNeill reopened their old theatre
Tourism and location
Port McNeill acts as a central hub for all of North Vancouver Island. It offers the only access to the villages of Alert BayAlert Bay, British Columbia
Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, British Columbia, Canada. According to the 2006 census, 556 people live within the village.-Population:Slightly more than half of the village's 556 residents are First Nations people...
(Cormorant Island) and Sointula
Sointula, British Columbia
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...
(Malcolm Island) via BC Ferries which run daily. Port McNeill Airport
Port McNeill Airport
Port McNeill Airport, , is located southeast of Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada.The nearest bigger airport, Port Hardy Airport, is approximately west-northwest in Port Hardy....
is located just 5 minutes South on highway 19.
The scuba diving is considered the best in North America, and has been ranked #2 in the world.
The town is also a popular tourism destination during the summer, with a large population of animals including black bear, cougar, and deer. The town also features the world's largest burl
Burl
A burl or bur or burr is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress. It may be caused...
, a museum and a history revolving around logging.
Other information
Port McNeill is also the Hometown of Willie Mitchell, an NHL defenceman for the Los Angeles KingsLos Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, and Amateur DJ, Steven Gullett. When entering the town off the Island Highway, there is a sign that says "Welcome to Port McNeill - Home of the NHL's Willie Mitchell" and is also the birthplace of Minnesota Wild defenceman Clayton Stoner
Clayton Stoner
Clayton Stoner is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the 79th pick of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft....
.
With accounting for 25.7% of the labour force, logging remains the primary employer in Port McNeill and contributes approximately 8% of the total BC timber harvest. The main contractors are Western Forest Products
Western Forest Products
Western Forest Products Inc. is a Canadian lumber company based in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.-History:Doman Singh bought a sawmill near Duncan in 1905...
and LeMare Lake Logging.
February 2007 marked the opening day of Orca Sand & Gravel LP, the largest sand and gravel quarry in the northern hemisphere. Material is shipped via 70,000 tonne container ships to ports in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and via 7000 tonne barges to Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.