Electoral Area I, Cowichan ValleyBritish Columbia

Most households in Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley own their home: 89%, more than in British Columbia’s towns and across Canadian towns

Rent took nearly a quarter of household income, between British Columbia’s towns (24%) and Canadian towns (20%). Shelter took 30% or more of income for just over a fifth of households, close to British Columbia’s towns (21%) and above Canadian towns (18%).

Commuters in Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley travel further than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns, 36 min on average

91% of commuters drove, about level with Canadian towns (89%) and above British Columbia’s towns (87%).

Winters are mild in Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley: January nights hold at 1.6°C, above British Columbia’s towns and Canadian towns

Frost comes on 45 days a year, lower than both British Columbia’s towns (60) and Canadian towns (159). The frost-free season runs from 4 April to 4 November, 213 days. Expect July highs of around 22.7°C in Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley. Snow peaks in December: 12 cm in a normal year.

The nearest high school to Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley is 30 km away

Young children have 11 km to the nearest elementary school, above British Columbia’s towns (0.6 km) and Canadian towns (0.5 km) alike.

Violent crime weighs more where Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley is policed than in British Columbia’s towns or Canadian towns: a violent severity index of 159

No police detachment reports under Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley’s name, so these are the nearest detachment’s figures, not the town’s own

Its police area recorded 19.6 violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, above both British Columbia’s towns (12.5) and Canadian towns (12). Across the area its police cover, the Crime Severity Index averaged 95 over 2023–25, above both British Columbia’s towns (83) and Canadian towns (67).

The nearest hospital is 29 km from the average home in Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley

Smokers make up just over a tenth of the region’s adults, above British Columbia’s towns (9%) and close to Canadian towns (12%). Adults here are less upbeat about their health than the province: 47% very good or excellent, against 50% in British Columbia. In addition, for 2022/2024, the region’s figure is 79.8 years at birth, 82.6 for women and 77.1 for men.

Older residents shape Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley: 31% are 65 or over, above British Columbia’s towns and Canadian towns

Immigrants make up nearly one in ten residents, below British Columbia’s towns (12%) but above Canadian towns (6.4%). The share of residents under 15 is 9.2%.

A normal November in Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley runs from 3°C to 10°C

Next comes December, with normal highs of 7°C and lows of 2°C. In November, the normal is 146 mm of rain and snow. The year peaks in July (23°C) and bottoms out in February (1°C). The forecast on the Weather page is ECCC’s for Duncan.

Jeff Kibble (Conservative Party of Canada) represents Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley in Ottawa as MP for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford

Across British Columbia, 20 of the 43 MPs sit with the Liberal Party of Canada.

Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley has no public library of its own; the nearest is VIRL: Cowichan Lake Branch, 11 km away

After it comes Gabriola Island Branch (Electoral Area C, Nanaimo), 20 km away.

The Trans-Canada Trail - Cowichan Valley Trail runs by Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley

Parks and reserves take up 1.9% of the ground within 10 km, below both British Columbia’s towns (6.7%) and Canadian towns (2.3%). 8 beaches are mapped within 5 km, none with a name. The closest provincial park is Gordon Bay Park, 0.2 km from the edge of town. 21 km separate the town from Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, its nearest national park.

Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley has one of Canada’s highest earthquake risks: $0.54 a year per $1,000, 18 times the typical town’s

The radon tests numbers here cover the Central Vancouver Island health region

Burn scars are few around Electoral Area I, Cowichan Valley, with 0.3% of the land within 25 km touched by fire since 1986 (0.007% a year). Of the homes tested for radon, 0.9% were over 200 Bq/m³, below both British Columbia’s towns (1.8%) and Canadian towns (6.6%). Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy has mapped the flood hazard here: one study on the national inventory.