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Alert Bay
Village
The Corporation of the Village of Alert Bay
The big house near Alert Bay.
The big house near Alert Bay.
Alert Bay is located in British Columbia
Alert Bay
Alert Bay
Location in British Columbia
Alert Bay is located in Canada
Alert Bay
Alert Bay
Location in Canada
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Region Central Coast
Regional district Mount Waddington
Incorporated 1946
Area
 • Total 1.78 km2 (0.69 sq mi)
Elevation
30 m (100 ft)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total 489
 • Density 274.7/km2 (711.5/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-8 (PST)
Highways Ferry to Port McNeill and Sointula
Waterways Johnstone Strait, Broughton Strait, Cormorant Channel
Climate Cfb
Website Village of Alert Bay

Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, near the town of Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island, in the Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Alert Bay had a population of 449 living in 219 of its 266 total private dwellings, a change of -6.3% from its 2016 population of 479. With a land area of 1.69 km2 (0.65 sq mi), it had a population density of 265.7/km2 (688/sq mi) in 2021.

Up to a half of the village's residents are First Nations people. The village is in traditional Kwakwaka'wakw territory. Two Indian Reserves take up the rest of Cormorant Island, Alert Bay 1 on the east side of the island, Alert Bay 1A on the west.

Facilities and features

Alert Bay has a credit union, grocery store, museums, a traditional "big house", a hospital, an RCMP station, a drug store, a post office, three restaurants and retail gift shops, a BC liquor store, a Royal Canadian Legion, a pub, doctors' offices, a dental clinic, and 4 automated teller machines (one in the bank, legion hall, restaurant and one inside Bayside Pub).

The town has three airports (Alert Bay Airport, a public airport, and the Alert Bay Water Aerodrome). There is a boat harbour and a BC Ferries terminal with service to Sointula and Port McNeill.

There is an elementary school (Alert Bay Elementary School for children in kindergarten and grades 1 to 7 and the T'lisalagi'lakw School (independent) owned and operated by the 'Namgis First Nation for children in Nursery, Kindergarten and grades 1 to 7. Students in Grades 8 to 12 travel by foot or ferry/water taxi to a school in nearby Port McNeill on Vancouver Island, along with students from Sointula on nearby Malcolm Island and others on North Island.

There is also one campground and an ecological park consisting of a cedar swamp and a small area of old-growth trees.

Alert Bay is home to the world's tallest totem pole.

U'mista Cultural Centre

In 1921, the Government of Canada, in an effort to stop the potlatch custom of dance, song, and wealth distribution under Section 116 of the Indian Act, confiscated many items including wooden masks, copper shields, and dance regalia. During the 1970s and 80s, the Kwakwaka'wakw regained their possessions after long negotiations. The returned artifacts are housed in a museum at the U'mista Cultural Centre.

Origin of the name

The settlement was named c.1860 after the Royal Navy ship HMS Alert, which conducted survey operations in the area.

Climate

Alert Bay has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) with a strong drying tendency in summer. Alert Bay is heavily moderated by the proximity to the Pacific Ocean and being located in the pathway of low-pressure systems from said ocean, heavy annual rainfall ensues. Winter is the wettest season, but snowfall is rare due to the average lows above freezing.

Climate data for Alert Bay
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 13.6 16.1 19.5 23.3 38.9 30.6 35.0 35.1 29.5 31.8 18.3 14.4 38.9
Record high °C (°F) 13.9
(57.0)
16.7
(62.1)
18.7
(65.7)
23.5
(74.3)
35.2
(95.4)
30.0
(86.0)
29.4
(84.9)
33.3
(91.9)
27.9
(82.2)
23.9
(75.0)
17.8
(64.0)
15.6
(60.1)
35.2
(95.4)
Average high °C (°F) 6.1
(43.0)
7.0
(44.6)
9.6
(49.3)
11.4
(52.5)
14.3
(57.7)
15.8
(60.4)
18.0
(64.4)
18.4
(65.1)
16.0
(60.8)
11.8
(53.2)
7.4
(45.3)
5.4
(41.7)
11.8
(53.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7)
4.6
(40.3)
6.3
(43.3)
7.7
(45.9)
10.4
(50.7)
12.2
(54.0)
14.1
(57.4)
14.4
(57.9)
12.2
(54.0)
9.0
(48.2)
5.5
(41.9)
3.6
(38.5)
8.7
(47.7)
Average low °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3)
2.2
(36.0)
3.0
(37.4)
4.0
(39.2)
6.4
(43.5)
8.5
(47.3)
10.2
(50.4)
10.4
(50.7)
8.3
(46.9)
6.1
(43.0)
3.5
(38.3)
1.8
(35.2)
5.6
(42.1)
Record low °C (°F) −11.1
(12.0)
−13.6
(7.5)
−7.8
(18.0)
−1.7
(28.9)
0.0
(32.0)
2.2
(36.0)
1.1
(34.0)
5.6
(42.1)
1.1
(34.0)
−3.9
(25.0)
−12.6
(9.3)
−13.3
(8.1)
−13.6
(7.5)
Record low wind chill −21.5 −26.5 −22.0 −4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 −9.2 −24.8 −23.0 −26.5
Average precipitation mm (inches) 215.9
(8.50)
149.9
(5.90)
109.7
(4.32)
103.4
(4.07)
78.3
(3.08)
79.1
(3.11)
45.4
(1.79)
62.3
(2.45)
76.8
(3.02)
209.9
(8.26)
249.6
(9.83)
193.3
(7.61)
1,573.5
(61.95)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 210.2
(8.28)
138.9
(5.47)
108.4
(4.27)
102.9
(4.05)
78.3
(3.08)
79.1
(3.11)
45.4
(1.79)
62.3
(2.45)
76.8
(3.02)
209.4
(8.24)
246.5
(9.70)
186.7
(7.35)
1,544.9
(60.82)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 6.2
(2.4)
12.1
(4.8)
1.4
(0.6)
0.5
(0.2)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.5
(0.2)
3.1
(1.2)
6.5
(2.6)
30.2
(11.9)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 20.9 18.2 17.8 19.0 17.4 15.9 11.9 11.5 14.1 19.8 23.3 20.8 210.4
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 19.8 17.0 17.5 19.0 17.4 15.9 11.9 11.5 14.1 19.8 22.8 20.0 206.5
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 2.4 2.7 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.0 2.2 9.6

Geology

Volcanic features in the geography around Alert Bay are part of the Alert Bay Volcanic Belt. It appears to have been active in Miocene and Pliocene times. No Holocene eruptions are known, and volcanic activity in the belt has likely ceased.

Notable people

  • brothers Bing Chew Wong and Frank Bing Wong - Chinese Canadian WW2 veterans raised in Alert Bay and Vancouver; Bing was Vancouver accountant who helped Chinese and First Nations clients with accounting needs

See also

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