Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada, off Canada's Pacific coast. It is 460 km (285 miles) long and up to 80 km (50 miles) wide. The largest island on the western side of North America at , it is the world's 43rd largest island, Canada's 11th largest island and Canada's second most populous island after the Island of Montreal, which has 1.3 million more people. The island is named in honour of George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific coast of North America between 1791 and 1794.
The 2001 census population was 656,312. British Columbia statistics in 2004 estimated the population at 734,860. Slightly fewer than half of these (331,491) live in Greater Victoria. Other major cities on Vancouver Island include Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Parksville, Comox, Courtenay, and Campbell River.
