Vancouver Island is part of British Columbia, Canada. As a region, it includes the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia. It is often referred to by the locals as simply 'The Island'. Vancouver Island is the largest island off the west coast of North America at about 450 km long and up to about 90 km wide. It has a population of over 870,000 people (2019), with a little less than half of those living in the Greater Victoria area.

The development on the island primarily follows the north-south highway that goes along the east coast of the island from Victoria to Port Hardy.

Vancouver Island lies in the temperate rainforest biome. On the southern and eastern portions of the island, this is characterized by Douglas fir, western red cedar, arbutus, Garry oak, salal, Oregon grape, and manzanita. The island's economy is based on technology industries, logging, fishing, and tourism, with some food production as well.

- Wikivoyage