TopNational Historic Site · 1927–1928Motor Vessel BCP 45621 Island HighwayPhoto: Redonebird · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Commons file
Motor Vessel BCP 45 · Photo: Redonebird · CC BY-SA 3.0 de1historic place on the registers
History of Campbell River · Canada’s heritage registers
Campbell River’s 1 historic place is a top designation
Motor Vessel BCP 45, from 1927, is Campbell River’s national historic site. As a municipality it dates, by Wikidata, from 1855, a date that can mark incorporation or a merger as well as a founding. Per resident Campbell River has more than 72% of Canadian towns: 0.3 for every 10,000 people. Only 8.1% of its homes were built before 1961, against 18% in the typical Canadian town.
Historic places
1
0.3 per 10,000 residents
Highest designations
1
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings
Oldest building
1927
the first construction date on its record
Homes built before 1961
8.1%
typical town: 18%
The map
Where Campbell River’s history is
Every place on the registers inside the town, by its designation.
Highest designations
Dots open their places’ pages; hover first to read the name.
The 1, by tier
1 Highest designations
What the map shows is the open record: the federal directory in full, and from provincial or municipal lists only the places Wikidata ties to an encyclopedia article.
Points from Wikidata (Parks Canada’s files carry none) and from Québec’s register, as mapped there.
Highest designations
One place in Campbell River with the highest designation
National Historic Sites and Classified Federal Heritage Buildings, Canada’s highest federal recognition. Each one opens its own page.
Around the town
3.5 km from Campbell River: Cape Mudge Lighthouse, the nearest on the registers
Oldest of them is Powell River Townsite Historic District (1911), 52 km off. Of the 2 of the highest rank, the nearest is Powell River Townsite Historic District, 52 km away. Within 100 km there are 6 in all.
The 6 nearest, within 100 km
| Cape Mudge LighthouseHeritage Lighthouse · 1916 · 3.5 km away, in Electoral Area C, Strathcona |
| Former Canadian Pacific Railway Station (VIA Rail), Courtenay, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1914–1915 · 38 km away, in Courtenay |
| Courtenay RiverListed in a community heritage register · 40 km away, in Electoral Area B (Lazo North), Comox Valley |
| Powell River Townsite Historic DistrictNational Historic Site · 1911–1956 · 52 km away, in Powell River |
| McLean MillNational Historic Site · 1925–1966 · 82 km away, in Electoral Area E, Alberni-Clayoquot |
| Former Canadian Pacific Railway (VIA Rail) Station, Qualicum Beach, British ColumbiaHeritage Railway Station · 1914–1915 · 92 km away, in Qualicum Beach |
Homes by age
A growing town: 8.3% of Campbell River’s homes went up from 2016 to 2021, against 4.1%
Half of the homes standing in Campbell River today were built before 2001. The busiest building years in Campbell River were from 1981 to 2000, which account for 34% of today’s homes. 32% of Campbell River’s homes were built from 1961 to 1980, close to the typical town’s 27%.
8.1%
Before 1961
32%
1961–80
34%
1981–2000
18%
2001–15
8.3%
2016–21
Campbell RiverTypical town
2021 Census, private dwellings by period of construction (Statistics Canada); the typical town is the middle Canadian town of 2,500 or more.
Neighbours
Campbell River and its neighbours
| Town | People | Places | Highest | Oldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell River | 38,300 | 1 | 1 | 1927 |
| Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake), Strathcona | 4,546 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Electoral Area C, Strathcona | 2,981 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Campbell River in brief
Canada’s heritage lists give Campbell River 1 historic place, one with the highest designation, Motor Vessel BCP 45 among them. Before 1961: just 8.1% of its homes, against 18% in the typical town. Beyond that, it has one historic place, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 1); and its one place was designated in 2005.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Map points. Parks Canada publishes no coordinates, so federal places are pinned where Wikidata puts them.
- Provincial and municipal lists. The local and provincial lists outside Québec aren’t published openly, so this page counts what Wikidata records and pages only the places an encyclopedia describes.
- People and events. Parks Canada’s open file gives its national historic persons no place. A town’s page names one only when the person was born there (matched by name and both life years) or one of its own historic places carries the name and its record speaks of them; national historic events stay off.
- The grade. History is described, not graded, for every Canadian town.
- Protection. National historic designation honours a place but binds only federal owners; a private building’s protection depends on its province or municipality.
- The federal register. Every federal designation is in Parks Canada’s directory, and the Canadian Register of Historic Places gives most of them a bilingual statement of significance.
- The tiers. Three tiers: the top for National Historic Sites, classified federal buildings and Québec’s classements, a second for the other federal designations, a third for provincial and municipal listings.
Questions about Campbell River’s history
Which places in Campbell River have the highest designation?
Motor Vessel BCP 45.
What is the oldest building in Campbell River?
Motor Vessel BCP 45 — its record dates it to 1927 (National Historic Site).
How old are the homes in Campbell River?
The 2021 Census dates 8.1% of its homes before 1961 (18% in the typical town).
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles · Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (homes by period of construction). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).