April 21 - 240 years of history in new exhibit

Good morning !

Today we have stories about movement: The opening of a Royal BC Museum exhibit on centuries of Chinese Canadian migration; the world-record ocean migration of grey whales (which passes by the Island); and the closure of a popular coastal camping trail that thousands of locals walk along.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌦️ 13 / 7

Tomorrow: ☀️ 14 / 5

Wednesday: ☀️ 16 / 4

NEWS

New RBCM exhibit explores 240 years of Chinese Canadian migration

RBCM's latest exhibit Odysseys and Migration has just opened and runs until May 3, 2026. The show features artifacts, photographs, and interactive displays. It looks at Chinese-Indigenous relations going back to 1788, waves of migration from China to Canada through the 20th and 21st centuries, and Chinese movement to other parts of the world such as Singapore and South Africa.

“The Chinese Canadian story begins earlier than many realize,” says co-curator Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, the CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum, “dating back to the late 1700s, well before the gold rush.”

The show was originally developed for the opening of the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver in July 2023, and this is the first time it has been hosted elsewhere. 

On Friday there will be a speaker event with Marlene Yuen, a printmaker, artist, and illustrator who did the show's commissioned mural “The Journeys Here.” The mural portrays the challenges and triumphs of Chinese Canadians with bold colours, symbols, meaningful places, and cultural motifs.

The show arrives a half-year after the Victoria Chinatown Museum was made permanent, and right as Chinatown's Tam Kung Temple has won a national heritage funding competition.

Tam Kung Temple finishes second in national restoration competition

The temple just won second place in the Next Great Save competition, scoring $10K to put towards a new visitor wing. The contest is run by the National Trust of Canada, and heritage buildings from across the country compete to win the top prize of $50K. Runners-up get $10K in second place and $5K in third. The 113-year-old temple was buoyed by Victorians’ votes.

Two years ago, the Duncan train station won first place.

Read last week's feature story on the temple.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Sun & some cloud this week, with some rain expected on weekend.

Expect busy ferries today: BC Ferries recommends reserving in advance, walking on, or travelling tomorrow when it's less busy.

Last day for advance voting in person. You can also vote by mail by registering for a ballot by April 22.

Read about the local candidates in our election hub here.

Free parking downtown today at parkades + street meters.

Halifax 3 Pacific FC 1 as locals lose first road game of season.

Missing: Stephanie, 35, was last seen on Tues. and is 37 weeks pregnant, Saanich Police say. [Info]

Missing: Aaron Horn, 48, last seen April 11. [Info]

NEWS

Grey whales are on an incredible migration through Island waters

Speaking of migrations, it's the time of year at which grey whales begin passing by the Island on the longest seasonal migration by any mammal. Their April-to-June journeys go from breeding lagoons in Baja California and Mexico to their summer feeding grounds in northern Alaska.

However, not all grey whales you see around the Island are making that full trip. As the Tofino Whale Centre wrote last month, many commonly spotted grey whales are “locals” from the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG). They travel within a smaller range, and can be seen well into the summer.

The 11-to-14m-long Eastern Pacific grey whales are a miraculous sight, and their story is even more miraculous: Rebounding from near-extinction due to commercial whaling twice in the last 200 years.

But the whales, which have long been of deep significance to the Nuu-chah-nulth and Makah, still face threats from consuming plastic and other pollutants; a climate-change-related dwindling of their food supply; orcas that pick off about a third of travelling calves; and entanglement in fishing gear.

Read (or listen to) more at Capital Daily on grey whales’ migration, their history in Island waters, and the threats they have faced.

NEWS

Why the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail won't reopen this summer

The 47km trail goes from China Beach near Jordan River to Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew. It will stay closed this summer “to repair extensive damage caused by multiple fall and winter storms.”

The Ministry of Environment and Parks said last week that “key sections … have been washed away or blocked by fallen trees, making the trail impassable and unsafe.” It also cited unstable slopes and “extensive damage” to bridges, boardwalks, shelters, and campsites along the trail. 

East Sombrio and Mystic Beach campsites remain open for backcountry camping and day use, but many sites are closed including: Bear, Chin, & West Sombrio beaches, and Little Kuitshie and Payzant creeks. China and Botanical beaches will also be open to day use. China Beach, which has been undergoing construction, opens May 15.

JDF trail has had recent upgrades & repairs

The closure comes a year after the province spent $2.7M on Juan de Fuca Provincial Park to add 21 new drive-in and 26 new walk-in sites for camping, plus accessible shower and flush toilet buildings at China Beach campground. The year prior, 10 new tent platforms were added to campgrounds at Mystic Beach, Bear Beach, Chin Beach, Little Kuitshe and Payzant creeks. In 2022 there were renovations to various boardwalks, bridges, and stairways. 

Although the Juan de Fuca is not infamously intense like the West Coast Trail, it still has its challenges and pitfalls. A year ago, a hiker got trapped in a clay pit along the muddy trail. 

⭐️ Capital Picks

🌏 Earth Day is tomorrow.

😺 A very cute cat in Comox: Blaze has just been adopted [BCSPCA Instagram]

🦢 The trumpeter swan of Esquimalt Lagoon, which recently died. [Facebook]

🤝 Now hiring: Night custodian at The Butchart Gardens.

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Capital Region. You'll also get full access to our Sunday edition.

🗞️ In Other News

Daytime disco dancefloor in Esquimalt coffee shop
The Sunday events at Serious Coffee are intended to give people—especially new parents—a way to get a version of nightlife without staying out late or being around alcohol. [CHEK]

Swartz Bay reopens Berth 5 after upgrades 
Underwater rock and sediment were removed from the berth to accommodate the Salish-class vessels, which sit lower in the water than their now-retired predecessor. It's part of a $20M upgrade also including the Lands End building. [Times Colonist]

Trustee kept out of Salt Spring LTC meeting, and risks disqualification
Trustee Jamie Harris says he has become a victim of the island's ongoing housing crisis after he lost his residence and couldn't find any affordable equivalent. But after three meetings of waiving in-person attendance requirements, his fellow trustees declined to on April 10—saying they still haven't heard what Harris's plan is. Trustees cannot miss two straight in-person meetings. [Driftwood]

UVic rugby coach will lead Canada at Jr. Pan Am Games
Brittany Waters has been the Vikes’ coach for a decade and before that was a Team Canada member as a player and an All-Canadian for UVic player. She will coach the Canadian U20 women’s sevens team this August in Paraguay. [Rugby Canada]

🗓️ Things to do

📽 Movies this week: Local independent theatres are showing:

• The Roxy: Pride & Prejudice (2005), King of Kings, Village Keeper (an official TIFF selection), Thudarum, Monty Python's Holy Grail.

• Capitol 6: Sinners, The Amateur, Warfare, Bob Trevino Likes It, A Working Man, The Woman in the Yard, The Penguin Lessons, Flow

• Cinecenta: The Way, My Way; Bob Trevino Likes It; Can I Get a Witness?

• The Vic: The Way, My Way; Being Maria; Sacramento; Secret Mall Apartment; Becoming Led Zeppelin

🐣 Easter Monday trivia from Sixty Watt at Sawmill Taphouse (7pm), 5th Street (7:30pm), and Christie's Pub (7pm).

🐇 Easter at Merridale concludes today with egg hunts at the orchard, an Easter colouring contest, and an Easter-themed surprise cider flight for adults. [Info]

🥿 Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella on now at McPherson Playhouse. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Sunday news: How Canada's government works. Best bakeries in town. Election updates. Appeal court denies William Head escapee. Royals at risk. [April 20]

Old growth protections could save billions, study says. [Capital Daily]

Saturday news: Peninsula restaurants. Fire near Jubilee. Candidate criticized for Trump Jr. tie. Oak Bay housing updates. [April 19]

Watch the federal leaders’ debate here (begins 30 min in): [CPAC / YouTube]

Salmon: Silent migration online auction fundraiser. [Peninsula Streams & Shorelines]

Beautiful hummingbird photos showing a nesting mother. [Instagram slideshow]

Costed party platforms: NDP & Liberals both just released theirs; Greens already did & Conservatives say theirs is coming soon.

Tight races expected in several Island ridings. [CTV]

Island may be ‘hot spot’ for strategic voting. [CBC]