PlaceDossier / BC places / Capital
Southern Gulf Islands
An electoral area of the Capital Regional District. 6,101 people lived here in 2021, up 28.9% from 2016, on 192 km² of land. It takes in Pender Island, Mayne Island, Sturdies Bay, Saturna and 3 more.
BC place · electoral area
How Southern Gulf Islands compares with BC's other rural areas
- Internet: the 13th most homes without 50/10 Mbps of BC's 159 rural electoral areas. 75% of homes have no 50/10 Mbps service recorded, compared with 19% without it in a typical rural area.
- Growth: the 7th fastest-growing of BC's 125 rural electoral areas with 1,000 people or more in 2016 and 2021. +28.9% from 2016 to 2021, compared with +6.3% in a typical rural area.
Typical for its size No scheduled buses, 3 licensed child care providers, 10 fire halls and a 24-hour emergency department 19 km away.
Checked, nothing found No evacuation order or alert since April 2017 and no land burned by a mapped wildfire since 1996.
How we compare
Each figure is set against BC's places of the same kind: cities of 50,000 or more, towns of 10,000 to 50,000, towns of 2,000 to 10,000, villages and towns under 2,000, or rural electoral areas. A figure stands out when it's among the top tenth of its kind at the end that matters to a buyer and clearly off the typical one, the middle place of that kind. Where fewer than 15 places of its kind have the figure, it's set against all BC places with it. A figure only counts when its source speaks for the place: a climate or air station within 15 km and 300 m of its ground, the place's own police service, at least 1,000 people for census figures and 25 homes for internet. A point that stands out has an ochre bar on its left, its section's stamp is filled ochre, and a dot in the bar at the top of the page marks that section; "Typical for its size" is a plain outline and "Nothing on record" a dotted one. In each strip a tick is one place, the tall tick the typical one, the dot this place, and the end that matters on the right. Facts that matter at any size (an evacuation order, emergency care far away, little mobile coverage) are said whatever the size, and mark a section as standing out only when they too are in the top tenth of its kind. A section is marked typical only where a figure in it is set against the typical one and none sits far from it (outside the middle half of its kind, or clearly off the typical one), and "nothing on record" only where it shows nothing.
Hazards Nothing on record
No evacuation order or alert since April 2017, and no land burned by a mapped wildfire since 1996.
- Burned by wildfire since 1996
- 0.0% typical rural area: 2%
- Years with a mapped wildfire since 1917
- 10, the latest 1944
- Evacuation events since April 2017
- none on the Province's record
- Poor-air days at the nearest air station
- 2 days a year (median), 27 km away
- Radon: homes tested at or above the guideline in its health region
- 1.8% in South Vancouver Island (BC: 7.9%)
More on hazards
Its land, ranked in BC
| Here | Rank in BC | |
|---|---|---|
| In the farmland reserve (ALR) | 12% | 117th of 267 (tied) |
| Burned by wildfire since 1996 | 0.0% | No mapped wildfire since 1996, so not ranked |
| Years with a mapped wildfire since 1917 | 10 | most recent 1944 |
| Under mineral, placer or coal titles | 0.0% | No land under title, so not ranked |
| Land area | 192 km² |
Shares of the land area, worked out from the Province's maps. Fire perimeters before the 1950s are less complete. A title or a past fire somewhere in the area says nothing about a given lot: a property report checks the parcel itself.
Large fires (1,000 ha or more) since 1990
No wildfire of 1,000 ha or more has burned in Southern Gulf Islands since 1990, in the BC Wildfire Service's perimeters.
Smaller mapped fires since 2016
No fire under 1,000 ha that the BC Wildfire Service mapped since 2016 reached Southern Gulf Islands.
Small fires that were never mapped as a perimeter aren't listed: the BC Wildfire Service maps an outline for only some of the fires it records. Past fire is history, not a forecast. The chance of fire on a lot today depends on what the record doesn't show: the forest and grass around it, the slope, what has been thinned or burned since, and how far it is from a fire hall. Every BC season and large fire since 1990.
Sources: BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Perimeters – Current, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Incident Locations – Historical, BC Wildfire Service; BC Wildfire Fire Locations – Current, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on November 10, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Outlines simplified and places measured by PlaceDossier.
How the land burned
On the Province's ecosystem map, all of Southern Gulf Islands's land is NDT2: forest where large fires replaced the stand about every 200 years on average, leaving wide even-aged stands with a few older trees that survived. Its main biogeoclimatic zone is Coastal Douglas-fir (99%). This is how the land burned before fires were put out, not its fire risk today. A report names the type over a lot. Every place's natural fire regime.
Source: BEC Map (biogeoclimatic zones and natural disturbance types), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), read 2026-10-12; areas worked out on the census boundaries.
Evacuations since April 2017
None of the wildfire evacuation orders or alerts in the Province's record since April 2017 covered 5% or more of the land or homes in Southern Gulf Islands.
Listed when an order or alert area covered at least 5% of the land in Southern Gulf Islands, or lay mostly in Southern Gulf Islands and held at least 5% as many homes as the 2021 census counted there. An order means people were told to leave; an alert, to be ready to leave. Homes are the record's own counts, area by area, shown where the areas lie mostly in Southern Gulf Islands. The Province's record starts in April 2017: earlier evacuations aren't in it. A lot's report checks every order and alert over the lot itself, and any in effect now.
Sources: Historical Orders and Alerts, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on November 2, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries and dwelling counts, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Each order and alert area placed in the municipalities and electoral areas it covers by us.
Evacuations for floods, landslides and other hazards since April 2017
None of the flood, landslide or other non-fire evacuation orders or alerts in the Province's record since April 2017 covered 5% or more of the land or homes in Southern Gulf Islands.
Sources: Historical Orders and Alerts, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (Open Government Licence – British Columbia), as published on November 2, 2026; 2021 census subdivision boundaries and dwelling counts, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence). Each order and alert area placed in the municipalities and electoral areas it covers by us.
2 landslides are recorded inside Southern Gulf Islands in the Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database (version 14.0): 1 earth slide and 1 debris flood. The latest with a date of its own: a debris flood, 15 Nov 2021 (listed under “Saturna Island”). The database lists slides known to have happened, mapped from inventories, satellite images and lidar. It isn't a hazard map, and some parts of BC are mapped in far more detail than others. Landslides near a given lot.
The Province lists 18 dams in Southern Gulf Islands, 3 of them classed High or above for the harm a failure would do downstream: Money Lake 1 Dam (High), Greenburn Lake Dam (High) and Buck Lake East Dam (High). The class rates what a failure would do, not how likely one is; a report names the dams within 1 km of a lot. Dams in BC, by place.
No Water Survey of Canada gauge with 5 or more years of yearly peaks stands in Southern Gulf Islands. Just outside it, Sandhill Creek at Pat Bay Highway had its highest peak, 3.1 m³/s, in 2007, equalling 1998 (15 years on record), Cusheon Creek at Outlet of Cusheon Lake had its highest peak, 3 m³/s, in 1997 (5 years on record) and Shawnigan Creek near Mill Bay had its highest peak, 23.6 m³/s, in 2007 (17 years on record). A gauge's record is the river where it stands, not a flood line; a report gives the nearest gauge on a river by the lot. River gauges in BC, by place.
Poor-air days: at the Duncan Deykin Avenue air monitoring station, 27 km from Pender Island, fine particles passed the level of BC's 24-hour objective (25 µg/m³) on a median of 2 days a year over the 8 years with a full record, 2016 to 2023; the most was 13 days in 2017, most of them in August. Most of these days fell from June to September, the wildfire season (our reading: mostly wildfire smoke). How smoky it gets across BC.
Radon
In the South Vancouver Island health region, 1 of the 55 homes tested (1.8%) in Health Canada's 2009–2011 survey was at or above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline; across BC, 143 of 1,817 (7.9%).
The survey tested about a hundred volunteer homes per health region, with one long-term test each. That gives a rough regional picture: it isn't a map, and a region where few or none tested high can still have homes above the guideline. The only way to know is to test the home: radon and buying a home in BC.
Source: Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011), Health Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Health Service Delivery Area Boundaries, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).
Check one lot: has it burned? · is it on a floodplain map? · is it behind a dike? · is there a dam nearby? · landslides nearby? · contaminated sites nearby? · radon? · how much is too steep?
Source: Agricultural Land Reserve polygons, Agricultural Land Commission (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Fire perimeters – historical, BC Wildfire Service (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Preliminary Canadian Landslide Database, version 14.0 (May 2026), Brideau et al. (CC BY 4.0); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Cost to own
Homes: the typical home costs 9.3 years of a typical household's income, compared with 7.1 years in a typical rural area.
- Typical home value against typical household income
- 9.3 years of income typical rural area: 7.1 years
- Median home value (owners' estimate, 2021)
- $600,000
- Median monthly rent (2021)
- $880
- Speculation and vacancy tax
- doesn't apply here
More on cost to own
Property tax
In Southern Gulf Islands, the Province collects the property tax. At 2026 rates every home here pays at least $2.49 to $2.73 per $1,000 of assessed value: about $2,486 to $2,735 a year on a $1,000,000 home, before the home owner grant. Local service areas (fire protection, recreation, street lighting, water and others) cover parts of the area and add to that, up to $1.03 per $1,000 each; which ones cover a given lot is on its tax notice.
- Regional district (the electoral area's share) $0.63
- Regional hospital district $0.12
- School (set by the Province) $1.13
- Provincial rural tax $0.39
- Police tax $0.06
- Other $0.04
On $500,000: at least about $1,243 to $1,367 a year; on $1,000,000: at least about $2,486 to $2,735, at 2026 rates, before the home owner grant.
Your bill uses BC Assessment's value for the property, which can differ from its price, and may also include parcel taxes and utility fees (water, sewer, garbage) that aren't rates on value. The home owner grant takes up to $570 off the bill of a home its owner lives in ($770 in the Province's northern and rural area in 2026, and up to $845, or $1,045 there, for seniors, veterans and people with a disability), for homes assessed at $2,075,000 or less in 2026; above that it shrinks by $5 for each $1,000. From 2027 the northern and rural extra ends and the regular grant is $570 everywhere. The owner applies each year, and must pay at least $350 in tax ($100 for the higher grant) after it. Our summary of the Province's page, read 2026-10-04. Rural rates aren't ranked: what a home pays depends on the service areas it's in. Confirm with the Province's Surveyor of Taxes. How property tax works in BC.
Source: The Surveyor of Taxes' rural tax rates, 2026, Province of BC (the rates only: facts set in public bylaws, not open data); Home owner grant, Province of BC (summarised in our words, read 2026-10-04).
Southern Gulf Islands is outside the Province's speculation and vacancy tax area, so the tax doesn't apply to a home here. Our summary of the Province's pages, read 2026-10-04. Where the tax applies, and who pays.
The typical home here is the median value owners gave the 2021 census, and the typical household's income is the median for 2020: a home that costs 9.3 years of income took that many years of a typical household's whole income. "Typical" for places its size is the middle of BC's rural electoral areas.
Land for sale nearby
The 5 nearest listings on AcreScout within 25 km of Pender Island, nearest first.
| Listing | Asking price | Size | Per acre | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4501 Short RoadPender Island, date not given | $1,900,000 | 33.5 acres | $56,716 an acre | 400 m |
| 4523 Bedwell Harbour Rd Southern Gulf IslandsPender Island, listed 164 days ago | $269,000 | 1.04 acres | $258,654 an acre | 500 m |
| 4616 Mate Rd Southern Gulf IslandsPender Island, listed 328 days ago | $319,000 | 0.47 acres | – | 900 m |
| 4611 Mate Rd Southern Gulf IslandsPender Island, listed 138 days ago | $155,000 | 0.66 acres | – | 900 m |
| 4622 Sailor RdPender Island, listed 117 days ago | $199,000 | 0.46 acres | – | 1 km |
Distances are straight lines to the listing's pin. Where AcreScout places a listing only roughly, no distance is given, only the place it's near. Per acre is left out under about an acre. Asking prices are what sellers ask, not what land sells for.
Listings: AcreScout, a Buretto site; active listings as of 2026-11-15. Asking prices set by the sellers; not a valuation.
Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
What you can build Typical for its size
On a lot zoned for a house, the zoning must allow at least a secondary suite or a garden suite (the provincial minimum).
- Homes allowed on a house lot (provincial minimum)
- a house and a secondary suite or garden suite
- Short-term rentals
- The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in Southern Gulf Islands (list in force from June 1, 2026).
- In the farmland reserve (ALR)
- 12% typical rural area: 4%
More on what you can build
In Southern Gulf Islands, a zone limited to detached houses must allow at least one secondary suite or detached accessory home (a garden suite or carriage house) next to a house. A floor of 3 or 4 homes applies on rural land only inside an urban containment boundary drawn in a regional growth strategy, and most rural land is outside one. None of it applies on land in an Islands Trust local trust area or under a rural land use bylaw, and in the Agricultural Land Reserve the Commission's limits come first. How many homes you can build on a lot.
The Province's principal residence requirement doesn't apply in Southern Gulf Islands (list in force from June 1, 2026), so the provincial rule doesn't limit short-term rentals to the host's home. Local bylaws, including the zone's own rules, can be stricter. Hosts anywhere in BC register each unit with the provincial registry. Short-term rental rules in BC.
Reports for lots in Southern Gulf Islands can't name the zone: we have no open zoning map for it (see the places covered).
Ask the Capital Regional District for a lot's zone and what it allows.
The federal boundaries put 6 reserves of Penelakut Tribe, Tsartlip and Tsawout First Nation in or beside Southern Gulf Islands. On reserve land the First Nation decides land use, not the local zoning bylaw; a report says when a lot is on reserve land or within 500 m of it. Reserve land in BC, by place.
6,388 titled lots in Southern Gulf Islands are in the Islands Trust's Galiano Island, Mayne Island, North Pender Island, Salt Spring Island, Saturna Island and South Pender Island local trust areas (counted by us on the Province's map). There a local trust committee writes the zoning, and the Province's small-scale housing minimums don't apply. A report says when a lot is in one. Buying on the Gulf Islands: what the Islands Trust decides.
The Capital Regional District's building inspection covers all of Southern Gulf Islands (Building Regulation Bylaw No. 3741): building, adding on, moving or demolishing a building needs a building permit, and the work is inspected. Our reading of the Capital Regional District's own page, checked 2026-10-07. Do you need a building permit on rural land?
The Province maps one designated community watershed, Shingle Community Watershed, over less than 1% of Southern Gulf Islands: land draining to a licensed drinking-water intake, where logging and roads on Crown land must protect the supply. A report says whether a lot lies in one and whose water it is. Community watersheds in BC, by place.
Check one lot: is it in the ALR? · is the soil good for farming? · is it in a community watershed?
Source: Agricultural Land Reserve polygons, Agricultural Land Commission (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Living here Stands out
Internet: the 13th most homes without 50/10 Mbps of BC's 159 rural electoral areas. 75% of homes have no 50/10 Mbps service recorded, compared with 19% without it in a typical rural area.
- Homes with 50/10 Mbps internet or faster
- 25% typical rural area: 81%
- Homes with LTE mobile coverage
- 100%
- Nearest emergency department open around the clock
- Salt Spring Island, 19 km in a straight line
- Fire halls
- 10 on the Province's list; the nearest 1.3 km from Pender Island
- Buses
- no scheduled buses
- Licensed child care
- 3 (3 group facilities, 0 family homes)
- Crime, weighted for how serious it is
- no police service of its own in Statistics Canada's figures: those of the Outer Gulf Islands RCMP detachment (rural) are under More
More on living here
Internet
25% of homes in Southern Gulf Islands have 50/10 Mbps or faster recorded, wired or fixed wireless, against 97.6% across BC. 7.5% have nothing at 25/5 Mbps or faster.
| Share of homes here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| 50/10 Mbps or faster, wired or fixed wireless | 25% | 97.6% |
| 50/10 Mbps or faster over a wired line | 3.3% | 96.2% |
| 50/10 Mbps or faster over fixed wireless | 23% | 87% |
| Nothing at 25/5 Mbps or faster | 7.5% | 1.4% |
| LTE mobile coverage | 100% | 99.1% |
| Homes counted (2021) | 5,151 | 2,170,255 |
| Rank in BC, homes without 50/10 Mbps | 12th of 248 | |
This is the service providers report to the federal government (ISED), counted over each area's homes in the 2021 census. It isn't a promise for any address: ask providers whether they serve it and what it costs to connect. Satellite service, which needs only a clear view of the sky, isn't counted. Data released May 2026. What internet can a given lot get?
Source: National Broadband Data (May 2026) and Pseudo-Household Demographic Distribution (2021), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Nearest hospital
The nearest hospital on the Province's list (updated 2026-10-01) is Lady Minto/Gulf Islands Hospital, Salt Spring Island, about 19 km in a straight line from Pender Island. Its emergency department's hours on HealthLink BC's list: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Roads are longer than these straight lines, and a small town's emergency department can close for a shift when it's short of staff: the health authority posts these as service changes. In an emergency, call 9-1-1. How far is the nearest hospital from a property?
Source: Hospitals in BC, HealthLinkBC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Emergency Rooms in BC, HealthLinkBC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).
Fire protection
In Southern Gulf Islands, a fire department answers calls only inside the fire protection area its service bylaw sets, so a hall nearby doesn't by itself mean a lot is covered: ask the Capital Regional District which department responds, if any. The Province's list (updated 2026-09-11) has 10 fire halls in Southern Gulf Islands: Galiano Island Volunteer Fire Department Hall 1 South, Galiano Island Volunteer Fire Department Hall 2 Retreat, Galiano Island Volunteer Fire Department Hall 3 Cook, Mayne Island Fire Department, Pender Island Fire Department Hall 1 Pender, Pender Island Fire Department Hall 2 Magic Lake and 4 more. The nearest to Pender Island is Pender Island Fire Department Hall 1 Pender, about 1.3 km away in a straight line. Home insurers ask the road distance to the hall that responds, which can be far longer than the straight line. How far is the nearest fire hall, and what insurers ask
Source: First Responders (fire halls and ambulance stations), GeoBC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia).
Child care
The Province lists 3 licensed group child care facilities in Southern Gulf Islands. By the ages their operators list, 1 takes children under 36 months, 1 takes children 30 months to 5 years and 1 takes school-age children; 2 list no ages. All 3 take part in the fee reduction (CCFRI). Family child care homes are counted but not named or mapped, since they are private homes. Many operators list no ages, and the list holds the licensed facilities the Province funds, so a licensed one without that funding isn't on it. A report on a lot names its nearest group facility and counts those within 1 and 2 km; ask each facility about spaces and its wait list.
Source: Child Care Map Data, Child Care Programs and Services (listed 2026-10-11) (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); placed by us in the 2021 census boundary 2026-10-11. Licensed child care in every BC place.
Crime
The Outer Gulf Islands RCMP detachment (rural) reported a crime severity index of 26 in 2025, below BC's 92; down 36% since 2015 (BC unchanged).
| Crime severity index, 2025 | 26 (BC 92) |
|---|---|
| Violent / non-violent index | 24 / 27 (BC 98 / 91) |
| Crime severity index, 2015 | 41 (BC 93) |
| Change since 2015 | Down 36% (BC unchanged) |
| Break and enter, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 62 (BC 281) |
| Theft of a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 15 (BC 138) |
| Theft from a vehicle, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 0 (BC 441) |
| Violent crime, per 100,000 people, 2025 | 415 (BC 1,531) |
| All Criminal Code offences (not traffic), per 100,000 people, 2025 | 2,200 (BC 6,943) |
Inferred: the nearest RCMP rural detachment Statistics Canada publishes figures for, about 9 km away. BC's police boundaries aren't open data, so the detachment that actually polices this place may be another.
The crime severity index weighs each offence by how serious it is (one assault counts for more than several thefts), with Canada in 2006 set at 100. Rates are per 100,000 people living in the police service's area, so places with many visitors, commuters or seasonal homes read high, and in small places a few incidents swing the figures a lot. These are crimes reported to police, not all crime.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0063-01, Crime severity index and weighted clearance rates, police services in British Columbia (Statistics Canada Open Licence); Statistics Canada, Table 35-10-0184-01, Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations, police services in British Columbia (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Water
2,071 water-supply wells on record; half are deeper than 68 m, and the median tested yield is 11 L/min.
- Water-supply wells on record
- 2,071; half deeper than 68 m; median tested yield 11 L/min
- Rank in BC for well depth
- 38th of 245 (tied)
More on water
The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 15 wells in Southern Gulf Islands, 2000 to 2020, among them 10 of the Province's observation wells and 1 water system's well. The median passed Health Canada's limit for arsenic (1 well), fluoride (1 well) and manganese (4 wells). A report names the nearest sampled wells within 10 km of a lot. A neighbouring well isn't your water: test your own. What BC's well water tests for, by place.
Mapped aquifers
24 mapped aquifers lie in Southern Gulf Islands, most wells first.
- 1Aquifer 320: Galiano Islandfractured sedimentary rock1,089 wells · low productivity
- 2Aquifer 711: North Pender; northern areafractured sedimentary rock263 wells · low productivity
- 3Aquifer 710: South Penderfractured sedimentary rock242 wells · low productivity
- 4Aquifer 619: Mayne Islandfractured sedimentary rock140 wells · low productivity
- 5Aquifer 712: North Pender; Port Browningfractured sedimentary rock123 wells · low productivity
- 6Aquifer 720: North Pender; southern portionfractured sedimentary rock119 wells · low productivity
- 7Aquifer 735: Saturna Island - eastfractured sedimentary rock115 wells · low productivity
- 8Aquifer 620: Mayne Islandfractured sedimentary rock114 wells · low productivity
- 9Aquifer 737: Saturna Island - westfractured sedimentary rock76 wells · low productivity
- 10Aquifer 447: Georgina Point - Hall Hill, Mayne Island Northfractured sedimentary rock63 wells · low productivity
And 14 more
- 11Aquifer 632: Navy Channel, South Mayne Islandfractured sedimentary rock53 wells · moderate productivity
- 12Aquifer 736: Saturna Island - northfractured sedimentary rock34 wells · low productivity
- 13Aquifer 787: Sidney Island, South Endfractured crystalline bedrock13 wells · low productivity
- 14Aquifer 779: Knapp Island, north of Swartz Bayfractured sedimentary rock6 wells · low productivity
- 15Aquifer 786: Sidney Island, North Endconfined sand and gravel (glacial)5 wells · moderate productivity
- 16Aquifer 783: Coal Island, north of Swartz Bayfractured sedimentary rock5 wells · low productivity
- 17Aquifer 733: Norway Islandfractured sedimentary rock5 wells · low productivity
- 18Aquifer 738: Saturna Island - westfractured sedimentary rock3 wells · low productivity
- 19Aquifer 780: Goudge Island, east of Swartz Bayfractured sedimentary rock3 wells · low productivity
- 20Aquifer 750: Mayne Island, east of Village Bayconfined sand and gravel (glacial)2 wells · low productivity
- 21Aquifer 785: Comet Island, East of Sidneyfractured sedimentary rock2 wells · low productivity
- 22Aquifer 784: Forrest Island, East of Sidneyfractured sedimentary rock1 well · low productivity
- 23Aquifer 782: Fernie Island, East of Swartz Bayfractured sedimentary rock1 well · low productivity
- 24Aquifer 778: Pym Island, north of Swartz Bayfractured sedimentary rock1 well · low productivity
An aquifer is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it, so a sliver of one at the edge can be left out. Wells and productivity are for the whole aquifer, which can reach well beyond Southern Gulf Islands. The province maps aquifers mostly in settled valleys, so a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Every mapped aquifer in BC · sampled lakes.
Sampled lakes
No lake in Southern Gulf Islands has clarity or nutrient readings in the province's monitoring records.
A lake is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it or 100 ha of it. Clarity is the median summer Secchi depth; the nutrient class is our reading of Carlson's index from phosphorus or chlorophyll, not a provincial rating. Either is given only for a lake with at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012. Most lakes have never been sampled, so a lake missing here may simply have no record. Every sampled lake in BC.
Source: Groundwater wells (GWELLS), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Ground Water Aquifers, Water Protection and Sustainability Branch, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); BC Environmental Monitoring Data System (EnMoDS) results, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
Climate and sun
January averages 4.6 °C and July 16.8 °C, with 29 cm of snow a year, at the Mayne Island station, 8 km from Pender Island (1981-2010 normals).
- January mean temperature
- 4.6 °C* typical rural area: −1.2 °C
- July mean temperature
- 16.8 °C*
- Yearly precipitation
- 842 mm*
- Yearly snowfall
- 29 cm* typical rural area: 88 cm
- Days a year over 30 °C
- 0.5 days* typical rural area: 7
- Frost-free period
- 229 days a year*
Winter sun
About 7 h of possible direct sun on December 21 at Pender Island, against 8 h on open ground; a lot on a slope or bench can differ by hours: open any lot's report for its own.
On March 21, 10 h 30 min against 12 h; on June 21, 14 h 10 min against 16 h. Our estimate from the terrain around the point, ground at about 26 m, seen from head height: trees, buildings and cloud aren't counted. On BC's least winter sun ranking (December sun as a share of open ground) it is 180th of 310 (tied). How winter sun is read.
More on climate and sun
| 1981-2010 normals | Rank in BC | |
|---|---|---|
| January mean temperature | 4.6 °C* | Not ranked* |
| July mean temperature | 16.8 °C* | Not ranked* |
| Yearly precipitation | 842 mm* | |
| Yearly snowfall | 29 cm* | Not ranked* |
| Frost-free period | 229 days a year* | |
| Average last spring and first fall frost | March 29 and November 15* | |
| Days a year over 30 °C | 0.5 days; no days over 35 °C* | Not ranked* |
| Wettest day in the station's record to 2010 | 72.1 mm of rain and melted snow, August 22, 1975 | |
| Most snow in a day in the station's record to 2010 | 56 cm, December 29, 1996 | |
| Deepest snow on the ground in the station's record to 2010 | 49 cm, December 30, 1996 | |
| Heating degree days, below 18 °C | 2,857 a year* | |
| Growing degree days, above 5 °C | 2,062 a year; 837 above 10 °C* |
Normals for 1981-2010 at the Mayne Island station, about 8 km from Pender Island (of the communities here with a station within 30 km, the one with the most addresses); ECCC has no fuller 1991-2020 set for it. Its normals don't include days with snow on the ground, so that is left out. * Based on at least 15 of the 30 years, short of the World Meteorological Organization's standard: treat as a rougher guide. The records are single days measured at the station: the most rain, snow and wind it saw in its record up to 2010 (ECCC's 1981-2010 sets give records over the station's whole history, so some dates are older than 1981). Each is one event, not what to expect in a year, and the lot can get more or less than the station. Elevation matters a lot in BC: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than the station.
Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 9a (97%), on Natural Resources Canada's 2025 map. Higher numbers are milder winters. What the zones mean.
Solar panels: a south-facing panel tilted at the latitude would make about 1,020 kWh a year for each kW of panels at Pender Island, about 29 of it in December (estimated from Natural Resources Canada's 1998-2022 sunshine map). An open sky is assumed: the hills, trees and buildings around a lot cut it, and a report sets the lot's own skyline beside it. What solar panels would make in BC.
By the 2050s (2041-2070) at Pender Island, climate models project about 4 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 70 days longer and about 6 percentage points less of winter's precipitation falling as snow, each against the same models' 1971-2000 (model projections under SSP2-4.5, a middle path for emissions). The models work on a grid of about 9 by 6 km, which averages valley floors with the slopes around them, so their own figures can sit well off a station's normals and aren't comparable with them. Their own figures there: about 5 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 3 to 12 across the models), against about 1 day in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 310 days (range 285 to 335), against about 240; and about 2% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 2% to 4%), against about 8%. The ranges run from the 10th to the 90th percentile of the models' 2041-2070 figures. The 2050s across BC.
Light at night within 1 km of Pender Island: faint, as around Wells or Lytton (our reading), and darker than about 90% of BC's homes (2024 satellite record). A lot away from the centre can be much darker. How dark are BC's nights?
Lightning: around Pender Island, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 1 day a year and 0.02 flashes per km² a year, less than at half of BC homes (the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, 1998-2025 average, on a grid of about 11 by 7 km).
Source: Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020 and 1981-2010, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Plant hardiness zones of Canada (2025 map), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Medium Resolution Digital Elevation Model (MRDEM-30), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Solar position: General Solar Position Calculations (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory; Spencer, 1971) (Public domain); Daily average solar irradiance on tilted surfaces for all of Canada (1998-2022), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Photovoltaic Potential and Solar Resource Maps of Canada (performance ratio), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Statistically downscaled climate indices from CMIP6 global climate models (CanDCS-M6), Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, via the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (Open Government Licence – Canada); Air Quality and Climate Monitoring: Verified Hourly Air Quality and Meteorological Data (fine particulate matter, PM2.5), BC Ministry of Environment and Parks (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); VIIRS Nighttime Lights, 2024 annual composite, Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines (Elvidge et al. 2021, Remote Sensing 13(5):922), via Hengl, OpenGeoHub, Zenodo doi 10.5281/zenodo.7750174 (CC BY 4.0); Canadian Lightning Detection Network cloud-to-ground flashes (CanCPLDv1), Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).
Land use around
1 major project in assessment or approved in or near Southern Gulf Islands on the Environmental Assessment Office's register.
- Major projects in assessment or approved, in or within 5 km
- 1: Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement
- Under mineral, placer or coal titles
- 0.0%
More on land use around
Major projects in Southern Gulf Islands
The Environmental Assessment Office's register places 1 major project in assessment or approved in Southern Gulf Islands or within 5 km of it: Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement (electric transmission line, certificate issued Feb 12, 2007, operating).
| Project | Decision | Phase | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Island Transmission ReinforcementElectric Transmission Lines | Certificate Issued, Feb 12, 2007 | Post Decision – Operation | In Southern Gulf Islands |
Closed: 2 withdrawn, terminated, refused, expired or not reviewable
- Bamberton Town Development (withdrawn 1995; about 1.2 km outside)
- Bamberton Projects (construction stone and industrial mineral quarry, found not to need an assessment 2023 (it may still go ahead under other permits); about 1.9 km outside)
Major projects are those large enough to need a provincial environmental assessment: mines, power plants, pipelines, transmission lines, highways, ports and resorts. The register places each at one point; a mine, pipeline or line can reach well past it, so check the project's own page for its maps. A property report lists those within 10 km of a lot; every project in BC by place.
Source: Environmental Assessment Office project points (EPIC), Province of BC, as of 2026-11-02 (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
The Province lists 8 active waste discharge authorizations in Southern Gulf Islands; the commonest kinds: sewage treatment or discharge site (6), concrete plant (1) and poultry processing plant (1). Of these, 7 may discharge effluent to water or land and 1 refuse to land. A report lists any within 2 km of a lot, and flags one whose point is on it. Permitted discharges in BC, by place.
On ParcelMap BC, the land in Southern Gulf Islands is 11% private, 3% Crown land with a parcel drawn (2% with no title), 3% federal; no parcel is mapped over 82%, likely most of it untitled Crown land, with lakes and road allowances. A report says who owns the land along a lot's line. Crown land next to a property, and every place's land by owner.
The Province maps 2 guide outfitter territories over nearly all of the area in Southern Gulf Islands. The map is drawn over titled land too, but a guiding territory gives no right in wildlife and doesn't restrict anyone else's right to hunt (Wildlife Act s. 67). A report says whether one takes in a lot. Traplines and guiding territories in BC, by place.
Southern Gulf Islands lies in wildlife management unit 1-1: the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.
BC Parks maps 9 parks and protected areas (Ballingall Islets Ecological Reserve; Bellhouse Park, a provincial park; Bodega Ridge Park, a provincial park; Collinson Point Park, a provincial park; and 5 more) reaching into Southern Gulf Islands, over less than 1% of its land. A report names the nearest park and recreation site within 25 km of a lot. Parks and recreation sites in BC, by place.
DND lists 3 former military sites where unexploded explosive ordnance (UXO) may lie that we place in Southern Gulf Islands by their names (our reading): 3 in assessment, among them Patricia Bay- Galiano Island RCAF Range, Patricia Bay- Mayne & Saturna Island RCAF Range and Patricia Bay- Piers Island Bombing Range. DND publishes no map of them; ask DND before digging near one. UXO sites in BC, by place.
Check one lot: is there a mineral claim? · power lines nearby? · pipelines nearby? · a gravel pit nearby? · a landfill or plant nearby? · logging planned nearby? · cattle on open range? · is there a trapline? · can I hunt on it? · a park nearby? · Crown land next door?
Source: Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).
People Stands out
Growth: the 7th fastest-growing of BC's 125 rural electoral areas with 1,000 people or more in 2016 and 2021. +28.9% from 2016 to 2021, compared with +6.3% in a typical rural area.
| Here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| Population, 2021 | 6,101 | 5,000,879 |
| Change since 2016 | +28.9% | +7.6% |
| Median age | 61.6 | 42.8 |
| Under 15 | 7.7% | 14.3% |
| 65 and over | 42.4% | 20.3% |
| Median household income (2020) | $64,500 | $85,000 |
| Homes owned by the people living in them | 85.5% | 66.8% |
| Single-detached houses | 95.3% | 42.4% |
| Movable dwellings (mobile homes and the like) | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Built before 1961 | 9.9% | 12.5% |
| Needing major repairs | 9.3% | 5.8% |
| Median home value (owners' estimate) | $600,000 | $785,000 |
| Median monthly rent | $880 | $1,370 |
| Worked from home | 33.9% | 22.6% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.8% | 8.4% |
Bars: the dark bar is this place, the red mark is BC.
Who lives here
| Here | BC | |
|---|---|---|
| Indigenous identity | 3.7% | 5.9% |
| Immigrants | 21.0% | 29.0% |
| Visible minority | 3.7% | 34.4% |
| No religion or a secular outlook | 67.1% | 52.1% |
Census figures, shown for context like the others. We don't rank or score places on these.
More on people
Census figures are from 2021; the next census results start in 2027. Area boundaries are Statistics Canada's census subdivisions, which follow municipal and electoral area lines. The places named at the top are the official place names in the area (BC Geographical Names) with the most 2021 homes nearer them than any other name, on ISED's home points: our reading.
Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence); BC Geographical Names, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Pseudo-Household Demographic Distribution (2021), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).