View source for Chemainus

{{About||aboriginal band government formerly known as the Chemainus Indian Band|Stz'uminus First Nation|other uses|Chemainus (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Chemainus
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = 
| nickname           = 
| settlement_type    = Community
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = 
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_map          = 
| mapsize            = 
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Vancouver Island#Canada British Columbia
| pushpin_label_position = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Chemainus in [[British Columbia]]
| pushpin_mapsize    = <!-- Location ------------------>
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = Canada
| subdivision_type1  = Province
| subdivision_name1  = [[British Columbia]]
| subdivision_type2  = Region
| subdivision_name2  = [[Vancouver Island]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Regional districts of British Columbia|Regional district]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Cowichan Valley Regional District]]
| subdivision_type4  = Municipality
| subdivision_name4  = [[North Cowichan]]
| subdivision_type5  = 
| subdivision_name5  = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = 
| leader_name        = 
| leader_title1      = 
| leader_name1       = 
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| established_title2 = 
| established_date2  = <!-- Area    --------------------->
| area_magnitude     = 
| unit_pref          = 
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 4.02
| area_land_km2      = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_percent = <!-- Population   ----------------------->
| population_as_of   = 2021
| population_footnotes = 
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 4033
| population_density_km2 = 693.0
| timezone           = [[Pacific Standard Time|PST]]
| utc_offset         = −08:00
| timezone_DST       = {{abbr|PDT|Pacific Daylight Time}}
| utc_offset_DST     = −07:00
| coordinates        = {{coord|48|55|16|N|123|43|1|W|region:CA-BC|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
| elevation_m        = <!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
| postal_code_type   = Postal Codes
| postal_code        = V0R 1K0, V0R 1K1, V0R 1K2, V0R 1K3, V0R 1K4,  V0R 1K5
| area_code          = 
| blank_name         = Highways
| blank_info         = [[British Columbia Highway 1|1]]
| blank1_name        = Waterway
| blank1_info        = Stewart Channel
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
| population_demonym = Chemainiac<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/demonyms-in-canada.html |title=demonyms in Canada – Writing Tips Plus – Writing Tools – Resources of the Language Portal of Canada – Canada.ca |access-date=2023-06-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925120954/https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/demonyms-in-canada.html |archive-date=2022-09-25 }}</ref> <!-- Politics ----------------->
}}

[[File:Chemainus-sign.jpg|thumb|Sign in the town of Chemainus, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.]]
'''Chemainus''' {{IPAc-en|ʃ|ə|ˈ|m|eɪ|n|ə|s}} is a community within the municipality of [[North Cowichan]] in the [[Chemainus River|Chemainus Valley]] on the east coast of southern [[Vancouver Island]], British Columbia, Canada.

Founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858,  Chemainus is now famous for its 53 outdoor [[mural]]s. This outdoor gallery has given birth to many businesses, including a theatre, antiques dealers, and eateries. The tourist industry stemming from the murals helped rejuvenate the town after its large sawmill closed in the early 1980s and was replaced by a smaller, more efficient, mill.

[[Image:Chemainus Theatre.jpg|thumb|Chemainus Theatre]]
The name ''Chemainus'' comes from the native shaman and prophet "Tsa-meeun-is" meaning ''broken chest''. Legend says that the man survived a massive wound in his chest from an arrow in battle to become a powerful chief. His people took his name to identify their community, the [[Stz'uminus First Nation]], formerly the Chemainus Indian Band.

The railway arrived in the 1880s and by the early 1920s the town's population had ballooned to 600 persons. Chemainus  was eventually designated a census populated area by Statistics Canada comprising the more built-up residential and commercial neighbourhoods.  Its population had further grown to 3,035 residents by 2011.  A larger more inclusive Chemainus area is customarily regarded as comprising part of the District of North Cowichan that lies north of the Chemainus River.  This is the area covered by the Chemainus Advisory Committee set up as a consultation body by North Cowichan.

[[Chemainus Secondary School]] is located in the town, and serves as a secondary school for students living in Chemainus, [[Crofton, British Columbia|Crofton]], and [[Saltair, British Columbia|Saltair]].

A [[BC Ferries|BC Ferry]] [[Ferry terminal|terminal]] is located in Chemainus, which provides service to [[Thetis Island]] and [[Kuper Island|Penelakut Island]] (previously Kuper).

On 13 January 2006, a [[Boeing 737]] aircraft was sunk off the coast in order to build an [[artificial reef]]. The sinking was documented in "Sinking Wings", an episode of ''[[Mega Builders]]'', a [[Discovery Channel]] series.

== Economic development post-Fordism ==
[[File:Forest-products-ready-for-shipping-at-Chemainus.jpg|thumb|Lumber stacked on the dock at Chemainus, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to be loaded on a freighter for export]]
In the 1980s, [[British Columbia|British Columbia's]] forest industry experienced a period of deep [[recession]],<ref name = Hayter1>{{cite book|last=Hayter|first=Roger|title=Flexible Crossroads: The Restructuring of British Columbia's Forest Economy|url=https://archive.org/details/flexiblecrossroa0000hayt|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=UBC Press|location=Vancouver|isbn=0-7748-0775-X}}</ref><ref name=Barnes1>{{cite journal|last=Barnes|first=Trevor|author2=Roger, Hayter|title=Economic Restructuring, Local Development and Resource Towns: Forest Communities in Coastal British Columbia|journal=Canadian Journal on Regional Science|year=1994|volume=xxvii|issue=3}}</ref><ref name=Barnes2>{{cite journal|last=Barnes|first=Trevor |author2=Tanya, Behrisch |author3=Roger Hayter|title="I don't really like the mill; in fact, I hate the mill": Changing Youth Vocationalism under Fordism and Post-Fordism in Powell River, British Columbia|url=http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/download/1651/1696|journal=BC Studies|year=2003|volume=136|pages=73–101}}</ref> largely caused by a substantial decrease in demand and price of B.C. forest products.  This decrease came as a consequence of increases in global competition within forest product markets, the reduction in B.C. forest stocks, the placing of tariffs on B.C. forest imports to the United States, issues regarding aboriginal land claims and the increased public support for environmental groups.<ref name="Hayter1" /><ref name="Barnes1" /><ref name= "Barnes2" /><ref name=Daglish>{{cite magazine|last=Daglish|first=Brenda|title=Falling on Hard Times|magazine=Maclean's|date=August 1992|volume=106|issue=34|pages=38–}}</ref>

Scholars view this recession more importantly as a representation of a larger structural shift from a [[Fordism|Fordist]] economic production system underpinning many North American industries, toward one of [[Post-Fordism]].<ref name="Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />  Fordism is a system of production methods based on principles of specialized mass production technologies, aimed at capturing [[economies of scale]].<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />  However, due to rising global competition, energy crises, [[stagflation]] and recession, Fordism began to unravel.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Barnes2" />  Consequently, a new system of economic production, characterized by greater flexibility and the exploitation of [[economies of scope]], known as Post-Fordism, began to emerge.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Barnes2" /><ref name=Koster>{{cite journal|last=Koster|first=Rhonda|author2=James E. Randall|title=Indicators of community economic development through mural-based tourism|journal=Canadian Geographer|year=2005|volume=49|issue=1|pages=42–60|doi=10.1111/j.0008-3658.2005.00079.x}}</ref>

This transition placed a heavy burden on coastal single-industry forest communities like Chemainus due to rising unemployment.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Barnes2" /><ref name= "Koster" />  At Chemainus, Post-Fordist restructuring of B.C.'s Forest industry resulted in a large overhaul of the local sawmill owned by the Macmillan Bloedel company (a [[Canadian Pacific Railway|CPR subsidiary]]).<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Daglish" /><ref name= "Koster" />  Automated, state-of-the-art machinery was installed which allowed for greater flexibility in producing a larger range of products and greater ease in meeting varied market demands.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Daglish" />  This restructuring however led to a reduction in the amount workers necessary for its operation:<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /> a decrease from about 600 workers to 145 workers.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Daglish" /><ref name= "Koster" />

However, the declining forest industry in Chemainus has led to a drive to diversify the local economy.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />  Chemainus has been successful in growing its tourist industry through the entrepreneurial activities of local citizens.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" /><ref name= "Koster" /> Key projects include the revitalization of Chemainus' main street, through painting a series of large outdoor murals, as well as the construction of a shopping mall about a kilometer away.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />

Chemainus' geographical location, between Vancouver Island's largest cities, Victoria and Nanaimo, as well as its proximity to ferry terminals and the coast island highway has also contributed to the successful growth of tourism in the community.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />

While tourism activities represent a new feature of Chemainus' economy, the forest industry is still the largest industry in the community.<ref name= "Hayter1" />  Chemainus' restructured sawmill is profitable, and newer developments such as Chemainus' industrial park have been completed, attracting a number of re-manufacturing firms including Plenks Wood Centre and Paulcan.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />

Despite Chemainus being heralded as a rare case of successful economic redevelopment within small resource communities, there are still some uncertainties facing its continued development into the future.<ref name= "Hayter1" /><ref name= "Barnes1" />  Some note that the initial redevelopment projects in Chemainus such as the painting of large murals and other revitalization projects depended on funding from the government.<ref name= "Hayter1" />  This funding has largely disappeared and some have observed a reduction of opportunities for entrepreneurialism.<ref name= "Hayter1" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Wikivoyage-inline}}

{{Subdivisions of British Columbia|detached=yes}}
{{VancouverIslandCommunities}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in the Cowichan Valley Regional District]]