GCRT : Vancouver Island

Day 4,289, 22:16 • Published in Canada Canada • by NerfMinions



In our continued effort to revive the slowly dying game that is eRepublik provide the good peoples of eCanada with quality content, the Alberta Free Press has decided to launch a new informative, educational and entertaining feature.

We'll visit every town in Canada! Drive every road! And entertain ourselves with weird and quirky facts as we roll from West to East!

Presenting... the Great Canadian Road Trip!




Like any real West-to-East journey of Canada, our adventure starts at a small RV & Marine Sales shop on Vancouver Island. $60,000 dollars and 15 minutes later, we walk out with a reasonably-sized, brand-new RV. I slap on the Alberta plates I brought from home so we don't get pulled over by the RCMP, and we're off.


KM 0 - Campbell River, BC
Population : 35,000
The Salmon Capital of the World



And thus our journey begins in Campbell River, the self-proclaimed "Salmon Capital of the World". Unfortunately, the abundance of salmon being brought up by everyone else only serves to highlight my own lack of fishing ability. I pack up the fishing gear, and move on down the coast.


KM 52 - Courtenay, BC
Population : 54,000

We take a short stop in the 61st largest metropolitan area of Canada. Timmy's has the honour of serving us our first coffee of the trip. Onwards!


KM 162 - Nanaimo, BC
Population : 105,000
The Harbour City



Nanaimo, home to the ubiquitous Nanaimo bar. We celebrate one of Canada's greatest culinary inventions by eating 30 of them for dinner at the hotel restaurant. A brilliant sunrise over the Strait of Georgia wakes us up in the morning, and it's with some regret that I steer us back onto the 19.


KM 273 - Victoria, BC
Population : 368,000
Capital of British Columbia



Home to the Government of British Columbia, beautiful shorelines, and old people, Victoria is a city with a rich and storied history that the locals were only too happy to fill us in on.

Founded as a British trading post, and named after Queen Victoria, Victoria became the capital of British Columbia in 1866 in a giant middle finger to everyone in the rest of British Columbia. But hey, the other choice was New Westminster. Not much of a competition there.

Victorians celebrated the influx of bureaucrats into their fair city by becoming Northern North America's premier port of entry for opium during the latter half of the 19th century.

Victoria soon took another hit. In 1886, the builders of the Canadian Pacific Railway made the unfortunate decision to not bridge the Strait of Georgia with their new railroad. Suddenly, Victoria was quickly relegated to second place and stripped of its title of Commercial Capital of British Columbia. The city that eventually took this title grew to become one of the world's most desirable and livable cities, as evidenced by their red-hot housing markets.

Luckily, Victorians were a pretty industrious bunch. They quickly pivoted and began advertising their city as a laid-back, pretty and genteel alternative to the hustle and bustle of the mainland. Although they may have lost the large banks and corporations, the retirement homes weren't a bad consolation prize either.


The Great Canadian Road Trip continues soon! Get ready for next episode, as we take a ride on a disgustingly overpriced ferry to the mainland!

Did we miss something in a city? Unjustly slander your hometown? Been before? Share your stories in the comments! This project is meant to be informative and entertaining.