Alert Bay

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title: "Alert Bay" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-the-regional-district-of-mount-waddington", "villages-in-british-columbia"] topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alert_Bay" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Alert Bay
official_name	The Corporation of the Village of Alert Bay
settlement_type	Village
image_skyline	Big house near Alert Bay.jpg
imagesize	280px
image_caption	The big house near Alert Bay.
pushpin_map	Canada British Columbia#Canada
pushpin_map_caption	Location within British Columbia
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Canada
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_type3	Regional district
subdivision_name1	British Columbia
subdivision_name2	British Columbia Coast
subdivision_name3	Mount Waddington
established_title
established_title2	Incorporated
established_date2	1946
leader_title	Governing body
leader_name
leader_title1	Mayor
leader_name1	Dennis Buchanan
area_footnotes	(2021)
area_total_km2	1.69
area_land_km2
elevation_footnotes	At the weather station
elevation_m	54.9
population_as_of	2021
population_total	449
population_footnotes
population_density_km2	265.7
website
leader_title2	MP
leader_name2	Aaron Gunn
timezone	PST
utc_offset	−08:00
blank_name	Highways
blank_info	BC Ferries to Port McNeill and Sointula
blank1_name	Waterways
blank1_info	Johnstone Strait, Broughton Strait, Cormorant Channel
blank2_name	Climate
blank2_info	Cfb
leader_name3	Anna Kindy
leader_title3	MLA
::

Alert Bay, also known as ʼYalis in Kwakʼwala, 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 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Alert Bay had a population of 449 living in 219 of its 266 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 479. With a land area of 1.69 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

Up to half of the village's residents are First Nations people. The village is in traditional Kwakwakaʼwakw 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, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police station, a drug store, a post office, four restaurants and retail gift shops, a BC liquor store, a Royal Canadian Legion, a pub, doctors' offices, a drug and alcohol treatment centre, and three automated teller machines (one in the bank, one outside the drug store and one outside Bayside Pub).

The town has two airports (Alert Bay 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 Alert Bay Elementary School, part of School District 85 Vancouver Island North, for children in kindergarten and grades 1 to 7 and the T'lisalagi'lakw School (independent) owned and operated by the ʼNamgis 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.

Alert Bay has a campground, located on Alder Rd.

Alert Bay Ecological Park, formerly known as Gator Gardens, consists of boardwalks over a marsh and some forest trails. Cedar, pine, and hemlock trees populate the marsh. Many of the trees in the park are covered in Witch's Hair lichen. The water in the marsh comes from an underground fresh water spring. A dam was built in 1886 to collect fresh water for a fish cannery, and the resulting flooding of fresh water killed the trees in this area. The resulting cedar snags are a distinctive feature of this marshy area.

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 Kwakwakaʼwakw 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.

| metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Alert Bay Climate ID: 1020270; coordinates ; elevation: 59.4 m; 1971–2000 normals |Jan maximum humidex = 13.6 |Feb maximum humidex = 16.1 |Mar maximum humidex = 19.5 |Apr maximum humidex = 23.3 |May maximum humidex = 38.9 |Jun maximum humidex = 30.6 |Jul maximum humidex = 35.0 |Aug maximum humidex = 35.1 |Sep maximum humidex = 29.5 |Oct maximum humidex = 31.8 |Nov maximum humidex = 18.3 |Dec maximum humidex = 14.4 |year maximum humidex = 38.9 |Jan record high C = 13.9 |Feb record high C = 16.7 |Mar record high C = 18.7 |Apr record high C = 23.5 |May record high C = 35.2 |Jun record high C = 30.0 |Jul record high C = 29.4 |Aug record high C = 33.3 |Sep record high C = 27.9 |Oct record high C = 23.9 |Nov record high C = 17.8 |Dec record high C = 15.6 |year record high C = 35.2 || Jan high C =5.4 | Feb high C =6.8 | Mar high C =8.9 | Apr high C =11.3 | May high C =14.1 | Jun high C =15.7 | Jul high C =17.9 | Aug high C =18.2 | Sep high C =16.1 | Oct high C =11.9 | Nov high C =7.5 | Dec high C =5.6 | year high C =11.6 | Jan mean C =3.5 | Feb mean C =4.4 | Mar mean C =5.8 | Apr mean C =7.6 | May mean C =10.1 | Jun mean C =12 | Jul mean C =14 | Aug mean C =14.3 | Sep mean C =12.3 | Oct mean C =9 | Nov mean C =5.4 | Dec mean C =3.7 | year mean C =8.5 | Jan low C =1.5 | Feb low C =2 | Mar low C =2.6 | Apr low C =3.9 | May low C =6.1 | Jun low C =8.3 | Jul low C =10 | Aug low C =10.4 | Sep low C =8.4 | Oct low C =6 | Nov low C =3.3 | Dec low C =1.7 | year low C =5.4 |Jan record low C = -11.1 |Feb record low C = -13.6 |Mar record low C = -7.8 |Apr record low C = -1.7 |May record low C = 0.0 |Jun record low C = 2.2 |Jul record low C = 1.1 |Aug record low C = 5.6 |Sep record low C = 1.1 |Oct record low C = -3.9 |Nov record low C = -12.6 |Dec record low C = -13.3 |year record low C = -13.6 |Jan chill = -21.5 |Feb chill = -26.5 |Mar chill = -22.0 |Apr chill = -4.0 |May chill = 0.0 |Jun chill = 0.0 |Jul chill = 0.0 |Aug chill = 0.0 |Sep chill = 0.0 |Oct chill = -9.2 |Nov chill = -24.8 |Dec chill = -23.0 |year chill = -26.5 |precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm =209.2 | Feb precipitation mm =147.7 | Mar precipitation mm =125.6 | Apr precipitation mm =94.5 | May precipitation mm =73.7 | Jun precipitation mm =81 | Jul precipitation mm =50.5 | Aug precipitation mm =65.4 | Sep precipitation mm =91.3 | Oct precipitation mm =191.4 | Nov precipitation mm =251.5 | Dec precipitation mm =209.6 | year precipitation mm =1591.5 | rain colour = green | Jan rain mm =189.3 | Feb rain mm =134.7 | Mar rain mm =116.7 | Apr rain mm =93 | May rain mm =73.7 | Jun rain mm =81 | Jul rain mm =50.5 | Aug rain mm =65.4 | Sep rain mm =91.3 | Oct rain mm =191 | Nov rain mm =244.2 | Dec rain mm =195.9 | year rain mm =1526.6 | snow colour = green | Jan snow cm = 20.7 | Feb snow cm = 13.1 | Mar snow cm = 8 | Apr snow cm = 1.3 | May snow cm = 0 | Jun snow cm = 0 | Jul snow cm = 0 | Aug snow cm = 0 | Sep snow cm = 0 | Oct snow cm = 0.4 | Nov snow cm = 6.6 | Dec snow cm = 12.5 | year snow cm = 62.6 | unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm. | Jan precipitation days =20.5 | Feb precipitation days =18.1 | Mar precipitation days =19.5 | Apr precipitation days =17.7 | May precipitation days =17 | Jun precipitation days =15.6 | Jul precipitation days =12.5 | Aug precipitation days =12.5 | Sep precipitation days =14.5 | Oct precipitation days =19.8 | Nov precipitation days =22.2 | Dec precipitation days =21.7 | year precipitation days =211.8 | unit rain days = 0.2 mm. | Jan rain days =18.3 | Feb rain days =17 | Mar rain days =18.8 | Apr rain days =17.7 | May rain days =17 | Jun rain days =15.6 | Jul rain days =12.5 | Aug rain days =12.5 | Sep rain days =14.5 | Oct rain days =19.7 | Nov rain days =21.7 | Dec rain days =20.4 | year rain days =205.5 | unit snow days = 0.2 cm | Jan snow days =4.6 | Feb snow days =3.4 | Mar snow days =2 | Apr snow days =0.52 | May snow days =0 | Jun snow days =0 | Jul snow days =0 | Aug snow days =0 | Sep snow days =0 | Oct snow days =0.1 | Nov snow days =1.1 | Dec snow days =3.4 | year snow days =15.1 |source 1 = Environment and Climate Change Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000

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

Gloria Cranmer Webster (1931–2023) – activist and writer
Brothers Bing Chew Wong and Frank Bing Wong – Chinese Canadian Second World War veterans raised in Alert Bay and Vancouver; Bing was a Vancouver accountant who helped Chinese and First Nations clients with accounting needs.

References

"British Columbia Regional Districts, Municipalities, Corporate Name, Date of Incorporation and Postal Address". British Columbia Ministry of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development.
{{Cite cgndb. JBOIS. Alert Bay
(February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), British Columbia". [[Statistics Canada]].
"2016 Canadian Census". Statistics Canada.
"BC Geographical Names".
"BC Geographical Names".
"Attractions & Services".
"World's Largest Totem Pole".
(June 2006). "Dancing around Alert Bay". Straight.com.
Walbran, John. (1909). "British Columbia Coast Names, 1592–1906: their origin and history".
(January 19, 2011). "Alert Bay". [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]].
(May 1, 2023). "Gloria Cranmer Webster, first Indigenous woman to graduate from UBC, dies at age 91".
(October 17, 2011). "Bing Chew Wong | Chinese Canadian Military Museum Society".
"Remembering the life of Bing Wong 1924 – 2019".

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