Dennis Buchanan has been acclaimed as the mayor of Alert Bay.
Meanwhile, elected to council were incumbents Lisanne Granger and Kane Gordon, as well as newcomers Sandra Parkinson and Larry Hill.
Mayoral Candidate
Dennis Buchanan – elected
Council Candidates
Kane Gordon (incumbent) – elected
Lisanne Granger (incumbent) – elected
Larry Hill – elected
Sandra Parkinson – elected
Frank Smith
Boundary
Located on Cormorant Island, off Telegraph Cove, between northern Vancouver Island and Sointula.
Population (2016)
489
History
Cormorant Island was once used as a place where the ‘Namgis First Nation would bring people who had died, but they also lived there seasonally. Settlement happened on the island between 1865 and 1870, and that led to the Village of Alert Bay’s creation.
The bay was so named for H.M.S. Alert, an English naval ship that surveyed the coast.
A saltery was established in the community, and those who ran it realized they would need a permanent workforce. So they approached a missionary to establish a mission on the island, which happened in 1878.
That mission included a school for Indigenous boys.
Settlement accelerated up to 1887, including the establishment of a sawmill.
Eventually, a residential school would be built in Alert Bay, with the aim of teaching Indigenous boys skills such as carpentry and boat construction alongside regular schoolwork.
The St. Michael’s Residential School was established in 1929, taking in children from outlying areas. It was one of the last such schools to close down in the 1970s. The ‘Namgis First Nation later took possession of the building. Demolition on the facility began in 2015.
The Village of Alert Bay was incorporated in 1946.
Median total income of couple economic families with children (2015)/B.C. median
$94,464/$111,736
Political representation
Federal
Rachel Blaney (NDP)
Provincial
Claire Trevena (BC NDP)
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