Vancouver Island’s ‘Harbour City’ is shedding its port town grit. Long dependent on its sawmill, pulp and paper mill and other commodity processors at the port, Nanaimo is transforming into an affordable waterfront alternative to Metro Vancouver. With ferry and air transportation connections to the mainland and its downtown core, the city is drawing new residents from the mainland. Nanaimo’s suburbs boomed in the 1990s and 2000s as it became popular amongst retirees and expat Albertans – but with new commercial development and high-tech investments, the new wave has a less grey hue.
