Nanaimo news

• Kerry-Lynne Findlay steps down as leader of B.C. Conservatives

  20-09-2026 22:48 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Kerry-Lynne Findlay has announced she’s stepping down as leader of the B.C. Conservatives.She posted a statement to social media Sunday afternoon (Sept. 20). It came hours after another defection from her party when Surrey Serpentine MLA Linda Hepner quit caucus.More to come.
  
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• Surrey’s Elenore Sturko is the sole incumbent MLA for CentreBC ahead of election

  22-09-2026 23:17 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Elenore Sturko is now the only incumbent MLA still with CentreBC heading into the provincial elections, less than a week after eight sitting MLAs announced they would be joining the centrist party.
  Sturko told Today In BC Tuesday (Sept. 22) that the seven others, including the party’s incoming leader Peter Milobar, had rejoined B.C. Conservatives under interim Leader Lorne Doerkson.
  CentreBC’s president Mike Wignall slammed that decision in a statement.
  “We are disappointed tha
  
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• Snap provincial election called in B.C. for Oct. 24

  22-09-2026 21:32 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  British Columbia is headed to the polls for snap election after NDP Leader David Eby dissolved the legislature on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
  He justified the move by saying the province faces an “existential moment” as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs damage B.C.’s economy.
  “Join me in saying, ‘Hell no!’ to Trump and to his politics for British Columbia,” Eby said during his Tuesday afternoon election announcement in Victoria.
  Speculation about an ele
  
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• BREAKING: Snap provincial election called in B.C. for Oct. 24

  22-09-2026 21:32 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  British Columbia is headed to the polls for a provincial snap election.
  Speculation about an election call percolated for about a week as the B.C. Conservative Party dissolved into chaos, and Kerry-Lynne Findlay quit as party leader.
  Election day will be Oct. 24.
  The election call will automatically cancel the Abbotsford-Mission byelection, which was set to conclude this Saturday. Reann Gasper had vacated that seat to give Findlay an opening to run.
  B.C. NDP Leader David Eby has tried to positio
  
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• Child taken to hospital after being struck by vehicle at busy Campbell River crosswalk

  22-09-2026 20:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A seven-year-old child was taken to hospital after being struck by a vehicle at a crosswalk adjacent to the Strathcona Gardens Recreation Complex late Monday afternoon, Sept. 21.
  A section of Dogwood Street was closed to traffic to allow paramedics, RCMP officers, and fire crews to respond to the scene at the crosswalk at Dogwood and Pinecrest Road.
  Const. Maury Tyre, media relations officer and spokesperson with the Campbell River RCMP, confirmed the driver involved is facing “a couple of
  
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• ‘Peril in the Alps’ brings mystery, laughs and an iconic detective to Chemainus


  22-09-2026 20:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Murder, mystery and plenty of laughs are headed to the Chemainus Theatre Festival stage this fall as Hercule Poirot takes on a new case in Peril in the Alps.
  The Agatha Christie-inspired mystery runs Sept. 25 to Oct. 25, combining the familiar world of the meticulous Belgian detective with fast paced comedy, inventive staging and a cast that transforms into nearly 30 different characters over the course of the show.
  Artistic director Mark DuMez, who is directing the production, said the play arr
  
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• Witness testifies she didn’t see accused ex-Nanaimo church official sexually touch minors

  22-09-2026 20:27 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Note: The following deals with charges of sexual interference and assault and may not be for all readers.
  A former worker at a Nanaimo church testified that she never saw an accused ex-youth pastor sexually touch minors.
  Ryan Richard James Morgan, 43, formerly of Generations Church, faces charges of sexual interference of a person under 16 years old and sexual assault for incidents that took place in Bella Bella, Nanaimo and Courtenay in 2017 and 2020. The trial, which began May 25 and adjourned
  
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• Guest column: I charged a bear

  22-09-2026 19:39 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  In August I met a bear.Here is exactly what happened.
  A mother bear with her cub and I with my pups, Skye and Jo, met in the forest in North Cowichan on a well-trodden path near a carcass that the bears had been eating.We didn’t see each other until the last moment. My Shetland sheepdogs were a few feet ahead of me. They trotted over the lift of the hill. The cub must have smelled us before we saw it. Suddenly, silently, Skye and Jo took off. I looked up in surprise and saw the cub climbin
  
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• Centenarian loving life in Vernon

  22-09-2026 19:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Like she doesn’t already have enough fun as one of the oldest living citizens in B.C.
  Now, Vernon’s Ethel Dover – 106 years young – has a new weapon in her amusement arsenal:
  A Nerf gun.
  “She’s quite the mean shot,” marvelled Kim Magarvey, general manager at Dover’s home, the Aspira Orchard Valley Retirement residence, in downtown Vernon.
  “She’s also an avid reader and funny as heck.”
  Born April 8, 1920 in Winnipeg, Dover is being
  
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• Terry Fox’s nurse, guest at a Surrey run, had to tell the world about his death in 1981

  22-09-2026 19:28 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Organizers of a Terry Fox Run in Surrey welcomed special guest Alison Ince on Sunday morning, Sept. 20.
  Ince, one of Fox’s nurses at Royal Columbian Hospital during his final days, was at the Fraser Heights Village site of the annual charity run hosted by Terry Fox Foundation.
  Ince became media liaison for Fox at the hospital in New Westminster, where he died in June 1981.She remembers having to tell waiting media representatives that the Marathon of Hope hero had lost his battle with canc
  
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• Eby visits SFU’s new medical school in Surrey

  22-09-2026 19:05 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C. Premier David Eby got to take a look inside Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) new medical school in Surrey on Sept. 16.SFU’s Stephens Family School of Medicine invited Eby on a tour of the school’s temporary learning space and allowed him to meet the first cohort of medical students.The tour included demonstrations of several technology-based tools, including simulated patient-care rooms, medical mannequins, point-of-care ultrasound and virtual reality.
  One of the more inter
  
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• Eby visits SFU’s new medical school

  22-09-2026 19:05 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C. Premier David Eby got to take a look inside Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) new medical school in Surrey on Sept. 16.SFU’s Stephens Family School of Medicine invited Eby on a tour of the school’s temporary learning space and allowed him to meet the first cohort of medical students.The tour included demonstrations of several technology-based tools, including simulated patient-care rooms, medical mannequins, point-of-care ultrasound and virtual reality.
  One of the more inter
  
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• Sow that walked into Hope pharmacy put down, confirms bear awareness volunteer

  22-09-2026 19:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A bear that wandered into a business in downtown Hope has been euthanized.The bear entered the Hope Pharmasave on Wallace Avenue at about 2 p.m. on Sept. 20. It was accompanied by a small cub.
  The streets and nearby park were busy with tourist activity at the time, and several videos and photos of the bears surfaced on Facebook groups, including videos of people following behind the bears. At one point in a video, the bears walk between a vehicle and a drive-thru window.In another video, the bea
  
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• Nanaimo RCMP asking for help locating stolen vintage bike

  22-09-2026 18:46 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Nanaimo RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a vintage bike that was stolen from outside a residence on Nanaimo Lakes Road.
  At approximately 10:20 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, the Nanaimo RCMP received a report that a 1954 JC Higgins Jetflow bicycle had been stolen from the home.
  At the time of the theft, the bike had been locked to a bicycle rack attached to a vehicle.
  The locks were defeated and the bicycle was taken.The bicycle is a very distinctive vintage model.
  It has
  
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• Premier David Eby expected to call provincial snap election today

  22-09-2026 17:49 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  After a week of speculation, Premier David Eby is expected to call a snap election Tuesday afternoon.
  He has called a news conference at 12:15 p.m. at Government House in Victoria. This is where he must go to meet with the Lieutenant Governor to “drop the writ” and dissolve the legislature.
  A provincial election called today could be as soon as Saturday, Oct. 24 – a week after the municipal elections.Eby has tried to position this as a necessary step to cement his mandate in re
  
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• Crash kills 2 in Enderby

  22-09-2026 17:47 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Two people were killed in an early-morning crash in Enderby Monday.
  The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP are investigating the collision which took place Sept. 21 around 2:15 a.m.
  Police responded to a report of a single vehicle collision in the 1100 block of George Street.The investigation has determined the blue Volvo was travelling northbound on George Street when it left the road, colliding with a hydro pole and four parked vehicles in three different addresses.The 31-year-old male driver and 20-y
  
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• Construction of new long-term care facility in Lantzville begins

  22-09-2026 17:38 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Construction is now underway on the upcoming six-storey long-term care home in Lantzville, with completion expected in 2029.
  B.C. Health Minister Ravi Kahlon was joined by MLAs, local government officials and elders from the Snuneymuxw First Nation in a groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site of the new $350-million facility, located at 6910 Lantzville Rd., on Monday, Sept. 21.
  When completed in 2029, the long-term care home will provide 298 new beds, including an 18-bed hospice unit, a
  
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• B.C. capital, Empress Hotel murder steal spotlight in Jason Priestley drama

  22-09-2026 17:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Canadian actor Jason Priestley has shared the screen with many co-stars over his nearly five-decade career, but his latest might just be the biggest one yet.
  Joining the former Beverley Hills, 90210 teen heartthrob and co-star Cindy Sampson for the new television show Private Eyes West Coast is B.C.’s capital city itself: Victoria.
  And there’s no disguising the fact the comedy-drama has set up shop in the province’s ‘Garden City’.
  From familiar landmarks to local bu
  
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• Sooke hills fire grows to 50 hectares, smoke visible across the South Island

  22-09-2026 16:21 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Mount Jack wildfire outside Sooke on the South Island continues to burn out of control despite active work by crews.Discovered Sept. 20, the fire has grown to more than 50 hectares by late Sept. 21, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
  The fire, about four kilometres west of Sooke River, and south of Mount Jack continued to grow under dry conditions Monday (Sept. 21).
  “Earlier this afternoon, warm and dry daytime conditions fueled fire behaviour significantly, producing a highly visib
  
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• North Island communities make a long day on the bike worthwhile

  22-09-2026 15:31 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  On paper, 1,200 kilometres on a bicycle sounds pretty daunting.
  Then you break it down day-by-day, and it becomes a little more manageable. Still eventful, still tiring, but manageable.
  Monday (Sept. 21) was slated to be the biggest test of the bunch. The 146-kilometre ride from Port McNeill to Sayward started with the kind of adrenaline you probably need before spending nearly 150 kilometres on a bike.
  At Sunset Elementary and North Island Secondary School, students lined the way to cheer on th
  
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• VIU Mariners’ soccer teams make pitch for PacWest postseason in 2026

  22-09-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Vancouver Island University soccer teams have both hit the pitch with visions of making the playoffs this season.
  Both women’s and men’s Mariners teams opened the 2026 regular season earlier this month in North Vancouver against the Capilano University Blues – a respective 3-0 win and 1-1 draw – and played their home openers on Saturday, Sept. 19, at Q’unq’inuqwstuxw Stadium – both scored 3-1 wins over the Douglas College Royals.
  Emma Thornton (midfielde
  
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• Longtime Vernon radio voice falls silent

  22-09-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  He had a voice made for radio.
  And Paul Burke put his set of pipes to great use across Canadian airwaves.
  Burke, former morning man in Vernon at CICF AM radio (now The Ranch FM), died Sept. 15, one month shy of his 80th birthday.
  Born in Lindsay, Ont., Burke spent much of his life sharing his voice, his stories, and his love of radio with the community.
  At one point, in the early 2000s, Burke’s voice could be heard on as many as 30 different radio stations around Canada and the world, than
  
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• Cocaine, cash found on senior e-scooter rider after arrest: Salmon Arm RCMP

  22-09-2026 04:49 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A violation ticket for riding an e-scooter without a helmet may be the least serious offence relating to a 74-year-old man’s recent arrest by Salmon Arm RCMP.
  At 5 p.m. on Aug. 1, police stopped the senior scooter rider on Shuswap Street for not wearing a helmet. However, the man was “previously observed making numerous short stops at known problem residences,” said Salmon Arm RCMP media relations officer Const. Andrew Hodges in a news release.The man was asked for identificati
  
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• Investigation continues into wildfire that destroyed 100+ structures near Summerland

  22-09-2026 04:41 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Investigators continue to seek additional potential witnesses or evidence into the origins of the Bald Range Wildfire on Aug. 7.
  Penticton RCMP investigators have been working in partnership with the RCMP Forensic Identification Section, RCMP Fire Investigators, BC Wildfire Service, Natural Resource Officers, and the Office of the Fire Commissioner to determine the cause of the fire.
  No details into the origins have been released, but a Sept. 21 news release stated that the investigation has co
  
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• CONCERT REVIEW: Foo Fighters bring 31 years of big rock hits to BC Place

  22-09-2026 03:08 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Foo Fighters have a long history of playing music in Vancouver, from those baby steps at Commodore Ballroom 31 years ago to full-blown rock show at BC Place Stadium on Sunday (Sept. 20).
  Dave Grohl’s band of soldiers effortlessly cranked out three decades of familiar songs on a warm, late-summer night. The stadium roof was open, filling the city with big power chords and thundering drums for close to three hours, hit after hit after hit.
  Foo Fighters are now well-oiled on this tour, launch
  
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• Burnaby Hospital redevelopment back on after ‘brief’ cancellation

  22-09-2026 02:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment is back on, but with a renewed plan.
  The Burnaby Hospital Phase 2 plan – along with eight other projects – was officially scrapped in April, following the release of Budget 2026. In the budget, timelines for the projects were to be “repaced,” but it did not reveal the cancelled contracts at the time.
  Now, Ma says that “brief pause” has allowed for “a lot of fine work to occur by a
  
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• Fatal train strikes more than double in B.C.

  22-09-2026 01:37 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  More than double the number of people have lost their lives at train crossings so far this year, and that number doesn’t appear to be slowing, with two people fatally struck in the Fraser Valley in the past month.
  The BC Coroners Service reported that 13 people have been unintentionally killed by trains in the first eight months of 2026, which is a massive increase from the six who died during this same period last year.
  To mark the start of Rail Safety Week, Transportation and Transit Min
  
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• Charges laid in 2025 crash that killed Kelowna senior

  22-09-2026 00:13 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The alleged driver of the uninsured BMW involved in a car crash in February 2025 that killed a Kelowna woman and was investigated by the Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) has officially been charged.Charges were approved on Friday, Sept. 18 for Tristian Pelletier-Vallee. The now-30-year-old is charged with dangerous operation causing death, dangerous operation causing bodily harm and failure to stop for a collision on Feb. 27, 2025 at Highway 97 and Highway 33 in Kelowna.The BMW wa
  
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• Sooke wildfire grows to 35 hectares, smoke visible across South Island

  22-09-2026 00:09 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A human-caused wildfire near Sooke continues to grow in size with smoke visible across Greater Victoria.
  First discovered Sunday (Sept. 21), the fire is located within the Sooke Hills, four kilometres west of Sooke River, south of Mount Jack.
  Initially listed by the BC Wildfire Service as two hectares in size, Monday afternoon (Sept. 21) the fire had grown to 15 hectares.
  An update shortly before 5 p.m. said the fire now stands at 35 hectares.
  The fire is listed as ‘out of control’,
  
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• Sooke wildfire grows to 15 hectares, smoke visible across South Island

  22-09-2026 00:09 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A human-caused wildfire near Sooke continues to grow in size with smoke visible across Greater Victoria.
  First discovered Sunday (Sept. 21), the fire is located within the Sooke Hills, four kilometres west of Sooke River, south of Mount Jack.
  Initially listed by the BC Wildfire Service as two hectares in size, Monday afternoon (Sept. 21) the fire had grown to 15 hectares.
  The fire is listed as ‘out of control’, meaning it is spreading or is expected to spread beyond the current perim
  
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